Where The Wild Roses Grow
by AsunaKaori
Summary: "We stopped looking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside us." [IchigoxOC]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Beach. I merely own Maya.**

* * *

Maya picked up her feet, taking steady strides further and further into her neighborhood. The boundaries on each side of her that consisted of shadows, forming an evident path. The streetlights began to flicker on; one by one they lit the avenues.

Shriveled, dead leaves rustled beneath her sneakers. Each and every step she took expressed the crackled sound, brittle and crisp like the aftermath of termite infested wood. Leaves rained from above, embracing the last moment of the delicate breeze, the last fly of life, before becoming nothing more than trash on the planet's floor.

She pulled her hood up, which shadowed her entire face. Her body shivered and prickled in goose bumps as the bitter gust of air strengthened its intensity. She zipped up her jacket, stuffing her hands in the pockets.

She shifted her arms in more, as if sheltering herself from some unwanted presence. There seemed to be a reason to this chilly atmosphere. She knew they were near, always watching her every move. They knew her ability to see them.

The only sounds heard now were the constant chirping of crickets, and the sharp swoops of the night air.

Maya sighed as she pulled her iPod out from her pocket and annoyingly untangled the headphone wires. She placed the buds in her ears and pressed play. The high burst of music invaded her ears. Pulling herself in her own little world, shutting everything else out, Maya sang softly along and continued to walk, unaware of the presence that was stomping towards her from behind.

Too preoccupied with skimming through her playlist, her eyes widened when she whirled around, everything around her seemingly going into slow motion as she watched her body fly through the air, colliding harshly with the side of a car, blood sprouting from her mouth before silence met her ears.

Her vision blurred, she blinked rapidly, her eyes searching for the threat that attacked her and an inhuman like roar lifted through the air, shattering the silence as what Maya saw was best described as a living nightmare. The darkness descended and then appeared this enormous creature. It was as tall and wide as the buildings around them, a mask covered its face and a rather large hole was centered in the middle of its chest.

**"There you are, my darling prey."** It was unlike anything she had ever heard off, her heart pounded against her chest as she simply found herself staring at the creature. **"I have been waiting for you."**

_'What the hell is that thing?'_ She thought as she struggled to breath. _'I can't move. Why can't I move?'_ Haggard and pained gasps came from her throat as she slowly found herself staring in the most frightening eyes she had ever seen and her fear doubled.

**"Don't worry, my sweet. I will make it as painful as possible."** A muffled scream tore from her throat as her body was lifted in the air, the creature's claw like hands constricting around her. **"Struggling is pointless, I can't wait to devour your soul." **

Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but snort, **"What's so amusing? Did I say something funny?!"** The creature demanded as its grip tightened.

Despite her current situation, she sighed. "Why make pointless threats," she took another deep breath and wheezed, "-when you could have killed me, or the way you put it, devoured my soul?" She questioned as the creature merely stared at her.

Silence ensued between them and the creature suddenly roared in laughter, its head lightly tipping back as it continued laughing. **"Pointless threats? Pointless threats?! I am going to enjoy devouring your soul, such a potent aroma,"** he growled as it opened its mouth, dread and fear suddenly erupting through her body as she now took in her situation.

She was going to die and nobody would even bother to notice that she vanished without so much as a goodbye. Nobody would miss her and nobody would question her sudden death. But somehow, this didn't feel so bad.

It was as is. She had nobody she would be leaving behind, she had nobody that cared about her. She was right that nobody would miss her.

And as she waited for her death to come, the only thing she remembered when darkness took over was a beam of red engulfing her captor, its body vanishing as her body was dropped to the cold concrete and managed to catch a glimpse of figure approaching her.

* * *

A moan slipped from her throat as she found herself lazily blinking at her surroundings, a sudden wave of confusedly rushing through her being as she realized that she was not in the safety of her apartment and was unknown.

She silently sat up, her body and muscles screaming in pain as she gently craned her head from side to side, the happenings of the previous night flashing through her mind.

_'Shouldn't I be dead? Where am I?'_ The vivid image of the creature crushing her body appeared in her mind and she sighed in relief knowing that she was alive but then that meant that someone had saved her from that monster, and she guessed that she was in her savior's care.

The sound of a shōji door sliding open reached her ears and was soon followed by a tall, lean-built man with light skin and gray eyes. Looking closely, his hair is messy and light blonde -almost pale- with strands framing the sides of the face and hanging between his eyes. He was clad in a dark coat, which sported a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. He was also wearing traditional Japanese wooden sandals and a white and green striped hat that oddly looked like a bucket; in his hand he also held a cane but all in all, Maya could feel the power radiating from him and almost gulped.

"Well I see your awake, your wounds have miraculous healed over night, so I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm sure your confused as to where you are?! Well to answer your silent question; I am going to introduce myself. I am Kisuke Urahara and this is my shop." He stated with a bright smile that surprised her. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions but what's your name?"

Maya stared at him for a moment and stumbled with her words, since she wasn't use to being in someone else's company and care. "Maya." She answered and this man, Kisuke nodded his head.

"Well its nice to meet you, Miss Maya." He said with another bright smile and her hands clenched lightly. He frowned and seemed surprised at this action and briefly wondered if he had said something to offend her.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "What was that thing, Mister Urahara? That thing that attacked me last night?" She questioned, her voice low as she then glanced at him from behind her bangs.

He stared at her for a moment and turned around and with a, "Follow me. I'll explain everything in a moment," over his shoulder and began walking away.

Jumping to her feet, the girl stumbled slightly on her feet and quickly followed behind him. She glanced around, taking everything new in. "Watch your step, wouldn't want you to fall to your death." Taking his advice, the girl didn't question him as she slid down a rather long ladder, and what seemed to be a large underground room surrounded her.

Landing gracefully, she turned around and examined it in silent awe, never noticing the cane that came her way an at alarming speed and found herself jerking backwards, her eyes widening as time seemed to slow and a silent thud was heard behind her.

She frowned, "What just happened?" She asked and glanced up towards a rather shocked Kisuke Urahara; his mouth slightly agape he stared at her before sighing.

"It seems I was correct." He muttered and Maya seemed confused before glancing down at herself and only then did she notice why he seemed so shocked.

Instead of wearing her once tattered and torn highschool uniform, Maya found herself clad in a white top that merely covered her breasts, leaving her midriff open, accompanied with a white half-skirt with a dark drapery around her hips, and black stockings, finishing with black slippers, all in all it made her look like a gypsy. Her long silver hair was contained in a white and black cap decorated with red lace and golden star ornaments.

Her confusedly and shock seemed to rise upon levels when she noticed the hole in her stomach and the number 0 tattooed on her hip. "Wh-what am I?" She stumbled over her words, her eyebrows pushed together. "Am I some kind of freak?" She muttered seemingly to herself, unaware that Kisuke was looking at her intently.

"Your something called an Arrancar, Maya." Said girl glanced at him, and frowned.

"What's an Arrancar?" She questioned and Kisuke sighed in return.

"Arrancars are a group of Hollows that gained similar powers to that of a Shinigami by removing their masks. "And before you ask, remember that creature that attacked you last night, that is a Hollow. Hollows are creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of both living and deceased Humans. Hollows settle in Hueco Mundo, but can cross over to the Human World and Soul Society. Hollows are the opposite of Humans." Kisuke explained and watched Maya's expression change from confusement to shock and guilt.

She took a step back and a sob made its way from her chest. "You say that I am an Arrancar, that I was once a Hollow. So that means that I have eaten and killed human souls, devouring them with no remorse," she fell to her knees and the tears feel freely from her eyes. "I am a monster that doesn't deserve to live. Why did you not let that Hollow kill me? Why did you save me if you knew what I was?" She questioned, her shoulders shaking with her uncontrolable tears of anger and sadness.

To say the least, Kisuke never expected this girl to burst out in tears. A sigh escaped his lips and he found himself crouching beside her shaking form. "Hey now," he patted her back. "Don't cry, it makes me sad."

Maya sniffed as she wiped at her tears. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She wasn't use to someone being so close to her, someone actually wanting to comfort her. "You know what I am, so why are you being so nice to me?"

Kisuke shrugged. "I don't have the answers to everything, Miss Maya. But know this, I can help you but its your decision if you want my help or not. I can only do as much as I can."

Her hands clenched into fists. This was all to much for her. Her life was so dull and lifeless before, but how could one's life merely change in the blink of an eye.

She thought she was a seemingly normal teenage girl, a teenage girl who had no friends but now instead was something called an Arrancar, something that disgusted her to no end. To know that she had possibly killed and taken lives without any remorse.

With this set into mind, she merely glanced up at Kisuke. "I accept."

Nodding his head, Kisuke stood up and yawned loudly. "Well I hope you know what your getting yourself into. This won't be an easy road for you to tread on." He replied and flashed her a smile. "But what's life without a little danger?"

She could only nod, her eyes set on determination and made a silent promise to not only herself but for those around her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya.

**This story will take place from Season One and will work its way up. I will be doing all Arcs, because to be honest I haven't seen much of them. I want this story to be unique and I have read so many amazing and outstanding stories, and I congradulate the authors but I wanted to give this a try since its been in my mind for so long.**

I don't know the pairing yet but so far I have decided with Ichigo/OC. If you have any suggestions, throw me an inbox, I don't bite.

Well on with the story and I would appreciate a few reviews.

* * *

A small sigh escaped her lips as she found herself sitting on the rooftop of the Urahara Shōten, her eyes merely staring up at the night sky, she couldn't help but smile as the stars lit up the sky.

Its been two months since she's been under the care of Kisuke Urahara and the experience had been most thrilling, exciting and most of all tiring.

If she thought that he'd go a little easy on her since she was a girl, she was dead wrong. Though she had to admit, the man was a total weirdo and was hardly ever serious, but when the time came when he was, Maya made sure she took the matter just as serious.

She still didn't come to the fact that she was an Arrancar. A former Hollow that devoured and took lives just for the fun of it.

Yes.

She remembered now. She remembered what she was and what she had done in her past and she despised herself for that, but even if she wished she could, she could never change the past.

She closed her eyes and pressed her knees against her chest, the slight shimmering of the moon reflected on the bracelet wrapped snugly around her wrist. To everyone else, who bothered to even notice, it seemed like an odinary looking bracelet but to her it was much more.

Such a small thing held so much potential to her. It was a gift that Kisuke had made for her specially. It both surpressed and hid her Arrancar appearance and spiritual pressure to an extent that her hollow hole and the fragments of her hollow mask dissapeared.

It made her somewhat happy that she would finally look normal when she trained with Kisuke. She was rather glad that when Jinta or Ururu was in her presence, that they didn't flinch every time she was near them.

But even though she didn't look like an Arrancar, she sure as hell still felt like one. It didn't matter how many times Kisuke or Tessai would reasure her that she wasn't a monster, she still in her eyes was and that's something that would never change.

Kisuke had trained her to not only learn that abilities and powers of a Arrancar, he also had her train with the abilities and powers Soul Reapers had and Maya had come to learn that she was more in tune with her Arrancar side, than learning that of the way of the Soul Reapers. It was probably because being an Arrancar, these things came with instinct but she still managed to learn.

She had also learned that even though Sonído is equivalent to the Shinigami's Shunpo, which is roughly equal in terms of speed, there was still a huge difference between the two. Instead of being silent as Shunpo, Sonído made some sort of static noise or a booming sound whenever used.

And it was because of this that Kisuke had made her learn both Sonído and Shunpo but found herself being more skilled with Sonído than Shunpo.

Since she couldn't directly use her Cero, she also came to learn that she was skilled in using Kidō; a form of Soul Reaper combat based on advanced spells.

She had also learned that her zanpakutō didn't have a Shikai or a Bankai like Soul Reapers and instead had something called: Resurrección.

Maya hand also learned from remembering about her past was that Arrancars usually seal the nuclei of their abilities within the form of a sword, which is entirely different from what the Soul Reapers use. When they release their weapons' seals, they unleash their true power and their true form.

Maya had yet to learn the name of her Resurrección and was still curious to know what powers it held or what she looked like, she still had that disgust and fear within herself.

And since not even wanting to know the name of her Resurrección, Kisuke had taken the liberty to make her a katana, and even though it wasn't a zanpakutō, it was still powerful.

And even though she could remember bits and pieces of her past, it was all still a mystery to her. But it didn't stop her from not forcing her mind open into remembering.

Opening her eyes, Maya took one last glance at the stars in the night sky and vanished without a trace, making it to believe that she was never even there.

* * *

"Good Morning, Maya-chan. Its time to get up!" A groan slipped from the girl's lips as she pushed her head deeper in the comfort of her pillow, trying desperately to muffle the obnoxious and annoying voice of Kisuke.

"Its to early," she mumbled. "Why are you waking me up?" She groaned suddenly once she realized why he had woken her up and dread filled her heart. "Ugh. Can't I go tomorrow?"

Kisuke merely chuckld as he suddenly whipped out his fan, snapping it open and fanned himself with a chuckle escaping his lips. "I'm sorry Maya-chan, your just going to have to suck it up and go. And besides, think of this as a temporary vacation from all the hard work in training you have done." She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I guess there's no escaping," she mumbled before sitting up, a sudden yawn escaping her lips before she turned to a still grinning Kisuke. "Uhm, you can go now, Urahara. I won't go anywhere and besides, I think I need a break from all this training." She stated and he merely nodded before turning around.

"Don't take to long, Maya-chan." He sang before sliding her shōji door closed and she let out a huff. Running a hand through her hair, Maya glanced ran a hand down her tired face before standing up. Stretching like a feline, she sighed in content before she slowly got undressed.

Opening her small wardrobe, Maya took out her newly bought uniform and took her time as she slowly got dressed into it. She found herself wondering if anyone even noticed that she was gone? Did anyone care?

But those thoughts quickly vanished into thin air as she adjusted the red bow tie around her collar, tugging harshly at the ends of her skirt before combing her hair and once again, let it hang loose. Her raven black hair reached just below her waist, and it was the only thing she was proud of.

Pulling on the uniform jacket, Maya spared a last glance at her reflection and walked out her bedroom. "Are you going back to school, Maya?"

Maya couldn't help but smile at Ururu that stood a few feet away from her and nodded. "Yes I am." Maya said as she slowly walked towards Ururu before ruffling the girl's hair. "Don't miss me to much and tell Jinta he better start helping you or I promise, I'll throw a Cero at him."

Ururu smiled lightly and watched as Maya walked past her and turned around, before attending to her chores.

"I see your ready to go back to school, Maya." Glancing at the tall man, Maya smiled at Tessai and bowed.

"Good morning, Tessai," she laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I am." She muttered and glanced at her watch. "Well I have to go now, I'll see you all later." Without thinking, a new developed habbit of hers, a static noise was all but heard as Maya vanished.

Kisuke sighed as he stood next to Tessai. "She'll never change."

* * *

"You can do this, Maya." She muttered, her head hanging low as she avoided being seen, a habbit that Tessai scolded her about, a habbit that she had to learn to forget. "Its no big deal, nobody would even notice-," she gulped down her words as she found herself sliding open the door towards her classroom, her eyes widening when she felt everyone's attention shift from Miss Ochi towards her.

She shifted suddenly, "Sorry I'm late Miss Ochi." She apologized with a slight bow, trying desperately to ignore the surprised, shocked and confused stares of her classmates.

"Miss Hisashi?!" Misato Ochi asked in disbelief. "Where have you been the past two months? I thought you moved away or something had happened to you." A small sigh escaped her lips and she straightened.

"I'm sorry for inconvenience, but I am fine." She replied. "May I go and take my seat now?" Misato Ochi stared at her student in disbelief and surprise before nodding. Maya simply bowed again before making her way towards her seat, ignoring the sudden burst of whispers and stares around her, she slid in her desk and then proceeded to pay attention to the classroom.

_'Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be a long day?'_ She thought before finding herself staring out the window, unaware that a certain orange haired boy was staring at her.

* * *

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the bell rang, signaling that lunch was upon them and Maya couldn't be more happier as she collected her stuff. "Hisashi-chan?" Blinking, the girl glanced up, her eyes widening when she realized that someone other than Kisuke or Tessai had adressed her, and found herself staring into Orihime Inoue's eyes. "Are you alright, Hisashi-chan? You've been gone for a really long time and I," the busty haired girl pushed her fingers together and smiled. "And I was worried about you."

'_Worried? Orihime was worried about me?'_ She glanced down and sighed. "As you can see, I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me." Orihime stared in surprise at the girl's words before smiling.

"I was wondering if you wanted to sit with us." Orihime said with a hopeful look in her eyes and once again, Maya stared in surprise at Orihime. "If you don't want to-,"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because," another voice interupted and Maya watched as Tatsuki Arisawa approached the two. "Your always alone and we thought it would be nice to actually try and be your friend. So what do ya say?"

A small smile spread on Maya's lips. "In that case, I'd love to sit at lunch with you guys."

**Maybe...**

Maybe this was the start of something new.

* * *

Sighing lightly, Maya watched as the last bits of daylight bled away in the horizon, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

_'Today went better than I had hoped for. I mean I met some of Orihime's friends but I still can't help but feel that I don't belong. I guess its just my silly mind.' _

Shaking her head, she glanced at the river below and stared in silent awe at how the sun's rays danced across the waters. "I guess I better get going or otherwise I'd be training double time tonight." She muttered and turned around before turning her head in all directions, making sure that nobody was near, a sudden static boom was heard yet again as she seemingly vanished.

The sound of panting was heard nearby and soon Orihime found herself standing in the spot that Maya was previously in. "Oh that's odd," she glanced around. "I'm sure she was here moments ago. Hm, I must have missed her. Oh well, I'll just ask her tomorrow." With that, the busty haired girl turned around and headed home with a smile on her face, content that she finally made a new friend.

* * *

Staring at the ceiling of her room, Maya couldn't help but smile, her eyes closing as she wondered what tomorrow might bring, not knowing that tomorrow would be the day that she would make a friend for life.

And that friend came in the form of **Ichigo Kurosaki**.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya.

**humble servent: Hmm I kinda have to admit it was a trippy start but I want this story to be unique and I know its probably not a good start either. And at the end of the last Chapter, that was Maya's POV. I hope you will enjoy the rest of the story as I progress, since I'm writing the story from Season One. **

T**o everyone else, yes this is my re-write of Madness In Me. I would like to apologize if it wasn't to your standards and I hope I haven't lost any of my readers.**

**But enough of my rambling, here's Chapter Two.**

* * *

Maya always prefered to be left alone, it was in her case the only way she could keep everyone safe, but it also felt nice to know that you had friends looking after you. And it was probably because of her lack of making friends or the being alone that had made everyone weary of her.

And that's all she had known. She couldn't remember anyone having to ever take care of her and Maya couldn't find herself to remember her parents and always had that fearful thought that she might have killed them when she was still a Hollow. But somehow, she doubted that.

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she listened to the silence around her, her hands firmly placed behind her back as her head tilted backwards, loving the warm feeling of the sun reflecting on her face before opening them.

Keeping her eyes trained on the path before her, Maya sighed lightly as she thought about what Orihime had asked her at lunch. "Hisashi-chan, I was meaning to ask you, would you like to come over tomorrow night? Tatsuki's coming too, and we could have a sleepover and get to know each other better."

A small smile tugged at her lips and she wondered if the well-endowed girl was always so cheerful. But none the less, Maya had contemplated the invitation and without hesitation had accepted it with a warm smile. It was nice to have company other than Kisuke and Tessai.

Her head slightly snapped to the side, her thoughts vanishing briefly from her mind as she could hear yelling in the distance and frowned.

And being the curious person she was, it wasn't a surprise when she found herself coming across a owner of bright orange hair.

"Now listen up you pond scum," the familiar voice of Ichigo Kurosaki called out towards the group of skaters in front of him and pointed towards the knocked over vase with flowers beside the lamppost and glared. "Do you see that? First question: What do you think that is? You the one in the middle! Answer!"

Maya rose an eyebrow in amusement as she stood watching as said guy glanced around, unsure if Ichigo was really speaking at him. "Wh-what? You talking to me? I guess somebody left those flowers for some kid who got killed here." Wincing at the way Ichigo kicked the guy under the chin, she couldn't help but flinch.

"Correct. Now the next question: That vase over there. Why's it lying on it's side?" He questioned them. She couldn't help but smile at the horror spread across their faces as the shakingly answered, "I guess one of us knocked it over when we were skateboarding threw here. We didn't-" He didn't get to finish his sentece as Ichigo pummeled them to the ground.

"You guys catch on fast." A fiery aura surrounded him as he glared down at them. "Now go and apologize or else the next time the flowers will be for you." Watching with amusement, the skaters yelled their apologies before scampering off.

"There. That outta' keep those punks from showing their ugly faces around here." Craning her head towards the lamppost, she stared at the now visible, but transparent girl that appeared behind it, a chain dangling in the middle of her chest.

"Thank you for coming to my defense. I'll think now, I'll finally will be able to rest peacefully."

"No problem. It's the least I could do. After all you deserve to rest in peace." The silver haired girl sighed lightly as she shook her head. To say, it wasn't a surprise to see Ichigo Kurosaki getting into trouble, even if it was a good cause. The guy was a magnet for all kinds of trouble.

But Maya would be lying if she admitted that now knowing that Ichigo Kurosaki -a fellow classmate- could see ghosts wasn't a surprise and before she knew it, the girl spoke, "Remind me not to get on your bad side, Kurosaki."

To say the least, Maya didn't know what amused her more. Was it because of his shocked expression or was it because the orange haired boy jumped suddenly at her voice.

Ichigo blinked at her, his brown eyes staring intently at her before a wave of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Huh, you saw that," he mumbled before rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry you had to see that."

She raised a eyebrow. "Why are you saying sorry? It didn't hurt and besides," she gestured towards the lamppost as she slowly approached him. "You did it for a good cause."

His eyes widened as he took in her words. "You can see them?" He asked in disbelief and Maya nodded her head but said nothing as he continued staring at her. "Your that girl, Miya Hisashi, right?"

She sighed. "Maya. Maya Hisashi. I don't expect you to remember my name, its fine. I'm not use to someone remembering my name anyway." She muttered with slight smile.

He frowned. "I guess, I'm not very good at remembering things." She nodded her head. "Your not from around here, are you? I mean I never really see you walking down this street." He replied as they began walking down the same path.

She shrugged. "I'm not from around this area. I live with-," she hesitated. "I live with my Uncle." She replied, honestly not knowing whether to call Kisuke her Uncle but it was the only idea she could come up with.

"Oh." He replied as the sky began to darken. An eery silence spread amongst the two, a silence Maya was grateful for. "Well this is my stop," glancing up, Maya noticed that they stopped in front of a building.

"Kurosaki Clinic." She read the sign and realized that this must be where Ichigo was living. "Well," she turned towards him and bowed. "Goodbye, Ichigo. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." With that, she straigtened and turned around before walking away, unaware that Ichigo was still watching her retreating figure, and stood there for a while before finally going into his house.

* * *

"I'm home." Her voice echoed through the shop as she locked the doors behind her before making her way towards the kitchen, her stomach grumbling from not being fed.

"Welcome back, Maya." Glancing up, Tessai towered over her and she smiled and was about to reply when a familiar feeling washed over her and she grumbled under her breath once hearing a thud behind her.

"That's going to leave a bruise." She muttered and sighed once finding herself looking into the grinning face of Kisuke. "You could have warned me before you did that, you know."

He merely chuckled. "Then that would defeat the purpose. I don't want to hear any excuses, and since your late for dinner, your on cleaning duty." A groan slipped from her lips and her shoulders slumped.

"Yes sir." With that, she turned around and with a huff, lifted her Gigai from the floor before dragging it towards her room before heading towards the kitchen, a tick mark appearing on her head as she saw the state it was in.

"Oh and I want it sparkling and spotless." Kisuke's voice sang as he walked past the kitchen and Maya growled, her hand twitching. "And don't even think about charging that cero." Blinking, the girl blanched once noticing that indeed there was a familiar ball of red energy in her hand.

"I wish there was a Kidō spell for sparkling and spotless kitchens. This is going to take me forever." She grumbled.

And even though she hated doing cleaning duty, she couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

"The incident occured at Karakura Station after 7:30 am as the morning commute was getting into full swing. Witnesses report hearing a loud crash and feeling the ground shake beneath their feet. The entire area has been called off for further details..." A small sigh escaped her lips as she entered the kitchen, her eyebrows pushing together as her eyes flickered towards the T.V.

"It doesn't take a idiot to know that was a Hollow attack," she mumbled grabbing a apple before shrugging on her jacket and made her way towards the front exit.

Kisuke yawned as he craned his head towards her. "Well not all idiots have the knowledge of Hollows, Maya." He informed and she merely rolled her eyes.

"Well I'll be going now," she called once sliding the doors open and closing them behind her. Taking in a fresh gulp of air, Maya was intent on making her way to school.

She didn't know whether she intended to do it or not, but that morning she found herself passing by the Kurosaki Clinic and frowned. "Hmm, something must be wrong with me." She mumbled to herself and found herself picking up her pace, not wanting Ichigo to think that she was probably being a stalker.

"Maya?" The girl deadpanned as she stopped in her tracks, and turned to face the owner of her thoughts and waved.

"Good morning, Ichigo." She greeted with a slight bow as he merely nodded at her.

"Hmm, morning." He replied as they both turned around and began walking, and Maya slightly shifted as a silence formed between them.

"Hey did you hear about what happened outside Karakura Station?" He glanced down at her and nodded as they passed the secluded area that was taped off by the police.

"Yeah, I did." He replied and she nodded as they finally approached the corner. Something caught Maya's eye and she glanced towards Ichigo's bag and saw a bunch of flowers peeking out.

"Are those for the girl?" He nodded and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, I promised her I'd bring her some new flowers," Ichigo said as they approached the corner where the girl was and Ichigo glanced around as he called for the girl.

Adjusting her bag, she raised a eyebrow. "She's not here, maybe she-" a sudden unhuman roar in the distance stopped her sentence. **"Hollow." **Her eyes widened as she stared at Ichigo before rushing towards the sound, not bothering to stop as she heard his objections.

Ignoring the people rushing the opposite direction, her eyes widened as she saw the buidling being turned into rubble, dust blowing everywhere.

Coughing, another unhumanlike roar echoed in the air and her blood froze. Something stood from all wreckage, something unhuman. "What the hell is that?" She heard Ichigo mutter as she stared at the creature.

Her eyes widened and she turned towards Ichigo. "Wait, you can see that thing?" She questioned and he merely glanced at her, his eyes confirming her question.

"Help me!" The cry came from the girl they had helped yesterday, and Maya's eyes widened. She didn't register that someone had grabbed her hand but stumbled as Ichigo dragged her with him.

"Run!" She glanced back at the Hollow. It's claws reminded her of huge schythes and it looked insanely sharp, it's body reminded her of a praying mantis. Her hands fumbled around her jacket pockets, her eyes widening once she noticed that she left her Gikongan at home. "Kisuke's going to kill me." She mumbled with a sigh once she realized that the Hollow was heading straight for them.

"It's coming!" The girl yelled. "What is that thing?" Ichigo questioned and Maya glanced at him.

"Its a Hollow." Just as that slipped from her mouth, the girl triped and Maya turned towards the girl and helped her up.

"Come on!" Her eyes widened as she looked up, the creature descending upon them, it's mouth wide open.

A black butterfly fluttered in their vision and a petite young girl took place and slashed at the creature, blood spurting from it's wound before lunging at the creature again and with one slash, drew her katana down upon it's head, slicing the creature in half before landing in front of them and sheathed her katana.

Maya's eyes widened as she stared at the girl, and by judging by the black shihakushō she was wearing, it was obvious that this girl was a Soul Reaper.

The petite girl briefly glanced at them and walked away. "Hey, wai-" but she was already gone. People began to gather around them, asking questions.

Ichigo turned towards Maya and frowned. "How did you know what that thing was?" A sigh escaped her lips and she sighed.

"Why do I get the feeling that your not going to let this slide?"

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**Author Note:** Please review. I'm liteally biting my nails to know what you guys think. All comments are welcome but please no flames.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya. **  
**

**Thank you to all my readers. I thank those who have followed and favorited this story. I don't want to make Maya seem Mary Sue and was wondering if you could tell me if she's becoming one. Well enough said, I hope you enjoy the chapter and review.**

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Maya found herself staring at the path ahead of her, her eyebrows pushed together as she had an inner debate whether she should tell Ichigo the truth or not.

She thought about using the memory modifier but had a gut feeling that it wouldn't work. She didn't dare tell Kisuke that she was involved with the Hollow attack and bluntly replied when he had asked if she was there, "I don't know what your talking about. How could I have been there if I was at school?" She knew that he didn't buy her excuse but he also knew not to call her a liar, even if she was one.

She knew that sneaking out was stupid, but she didn't have another option. It was either sneaking out or face a whole load of questions and demands from Kisuke and she was so not in the mood for a confrontation.

She already had one with Ichigo, one that she so badly wanted to avoid but thinking back, "I promise I'll explain everything. Just keep your window open. I don't like doing front door entrances." She remembered the frown adorned on his forehead but he had reluctantly agreed.

And this was how Maya found herself walking towards the Kurosaki Clinic. "You got yourself into this mess and now you gotta get yourself out of it." She muttered to herself before finally finding herself in front of the Kurosaki Clinic.

Glancing at the only open window, Maya assumed that it was Ichigo's room and sighed. "Well let's just get this over with before Kisuke finds out I'm missing."

After using Sonído, Maya found herself standing in a medium sized room, and raised a eyebrow. "Wow. Who would have thought someone like Ichigo could keep his room clean, well considering that this is a Clinic, I'm sure its suppose to stay clean." She mumbled but found Ichigo to be absent from the room."

"Well then," she stated with a shrug before sitting down at the desk beside his bed and crossed her arms. "I'm sure he would be delighted to know that I'm here."

It didn't take long before she heard footsteps approach the door and said door being opened. She hid a grin as Ichigo stumbled into his room, his hand fumbling for the switch. "You know, you shouldn't leave your window open. What if I was a burglar?" She didn't know if was the shrill yelp that escaped his throat or how he jumped at her voice but Maya couldn't help but snicker at his expression.

Switching on the light, Ichigo stared at the silver haired girl in disbelief and shock, his eyes wide. "H-how the hell did you get in here? You know what nevermind. Just forget it." He grumbled and she raised a eyebrow.

"Hmm." She said nothing as he fell back unto his bed, intently focusing on the ceiling with his arms behind his head.

"So are you going to explain what the hell happened out there today? I keep thinking back to whoever that girl was. I can't make any sense on what happened." He replied and glanced at her.

She sighed and opened her mouth but both fell silent when a familiar black butterfly fluttered into the room, Maya's eyes widened as she stumbled from her seat as that same Soul Reaper from this morning walked through Ichigo's wall, standing silently on his desk.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo all but demanded as the raven haired Soul Reaper merely stared ahead before grabbing the hilt of her zanpakutō, all the while freaking the orange haired teen. His eyes widened and he scooted backwards. "Put that thing away! You ain't slicing me up." He yelled but she once again ignored him before landing gracefully on the ground.

She then proceeded to glance around the room, and Maya's confusion grew. "I feel it," she muttered under her breath but a yelp escaped the raven haired girl's lips as Ichigo lunged towards her, his foot raised as he kicked her, sending the girl sprawling to the ground.

"Who are you and what do you want?" He yelled as Maya walked towards the switch and flipped the lights on, Ichigo pointing a accusing finger at the knocked over Soul Reaper who had question marks flickering on and off around her head.

"If you think your a burglar, your not a very good one. For starters, you shouldn't talk to yourself."

She turned to face him in disbelief, her eyes wide. "You kicked me. But I can't be seen by odinary humans. Are you saying you can see me?" She questioned and Maya placed her hands behind her back.

"Well considering that was his foot he planted on your behind, you tell us?" She said and the girl stood up and approached them.

"Your those two I saw in town earlier," the girl confessed. "I remember."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Boy nothing gets by you." He said with sarcasm lacing his voice.

**[A/N: Since everyone knows that its Rukia, I'm going to start calling the mysterious girl as Rukia but just so you know, Ichigo and Maya don't know her name yet.]**

Ichigo took a step back as Rukia peered up at him. "How very strange-", he blinked as she now grasped his face, tilting it from side to side. "You look normal, but you must be defective in some way", she muttered and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'll show you defective." He growled raising his leg to kick her but Rukia merely jumped over his kick and jumped over his head, this action sending the boy tumbling towards the ground.

He growled and sat up before glaring at her. "Who the hell are you?" He questioned as Rukia then glanced at them both.

"Do you two really want to know? Then I'll tell you. I'm a Soul Reaper."

Maya pushed her fingers together as she listened to Rukia's explanation of what a Soul Reaper was, and all though she already knew, it was somehow funny to hear the raven haired girl explain it to Ichigo.

"Alright, so you're something called a Soul Reaper," Ichigo started as he contemplated her story, his eyes closed as he sat on the chair. Rukia nodded her head in confirmation.

"And you're telling me that you were sent here on a mission by something called the Soul Society...," another nod, "to deal with demons like the one we saw on the street today," another nod, "-which was chasing after that girl's soul." Rukia nodded for another time as Maya stared at Ichigo.

"That's all believable to me...", a tick mark appeared on his head as he stood up, throwing aside a small table in a comical fashion. "Along with flying pigs and the tooth fairy!" He yelled and Rukia stared at him in disbelief.

"How dare you? How can you not believe in Soul Reapers when you just admitted you can see spirits?" She asked and Maya simply stared at Ichigo, her eyebrows pushed together before looking back to Rukia.

"I believe you," Ichigo and Rukia turned their heads towards her, disbelief showing in Ichigo's eyes and a small flicker of respect in Rukia's. "I mean she's got the sword. I don't think she'd go through so much trouble to make that stuff up. So I believe her. Why don't you Ichigo?" He stared at her for a moment and scoffed.

"I've never seen or heard of Soul Reapers before and franctly, your whole story just sounds to incredible. I don't believe in anything I can't see." Rukia stood up and peered at him.

"Well you see me, don't you?" She questioned and Ichigo merely shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Well that's true and I'd agree with the fact that your not human. But why don't you go and play your Soul Reaper game somewhere else," he placed a hand on Rukia's head and Maya couldn't help but facepalm. "Okay you little brat. Now run along."

A grin appeared on Rukia's lips. "I'm a brat, am I?" she questioned before pointing her pointer and forefinger together and thrusted her palm forward. **"Bakudō #1. Sai."** Maya watched in slight amusment as the Kidō spell bound Ichigo's arms together, his eyes widening as he fell towards the floor.

"I-I can't move! What did you do to me?!" Ichigo asked as he struggled against the spell and Maya had to hide a grin.

"Paralysis. I've used what's called a Kidō on you. It's a high level incantation only we Soul Reapers can cast."

A small smile appeared on Maya's lips._ 'Hmm I wonder how I can do Kidō? Since she just said only Soul Reapers can use it. So how can I, an Arrancar, perform Kidō?'  
_  
"It's useless to struggle against it. You're just wasting your energy. I may appear young to you, but I have lived nearly ten of your life times. I would kill you on the spot for your insults if it were not against my orders, so you, little brat, be grateful!"

"You've got nerve." Ichigo growled, with a glare.

"And now." Rukia began as she drew the sword at her side. Ichigo's eyes widened, as did Maya's.

"No!" Maya exclaimed as she began to swing her sword down and Ichigo closed his eyes. Maya stopped when the hilt of her sword hit a spirit of an business man instead of the blade hitting Ichigo. Ichigo opened his eyes as he realized he wasn't being attacked.

"It's that ghost from yesterday." Ichigo said as he looked at the spirit of the business man.

"No. Please no. I don't want to be sent ot the underworld." the man said with tears brimming his eyes.

"You needn't worry because you are destined for a better place, the Soul Society." Rukia with a soft smile. "There, your soul will be at peace." she said as she removed the hilt of her blade from the man's forehead, revealing a glowing mark where her sword hilt had been. The mark glowed and the man went into the floor, a black butterfly sprouting from where he disappeared and flew out Ichigo's window.

_'Wow.'_ Maya thought with wide eyes. _'That's the first time I've seen someone doing Konsō. That's one thing I can't do.' _

"Where'd he go? What did you do to him?" Ichigo questioned.

Rukia sheathed her sword before saying, "I sent his soul to the Soul Society. It's one of the main responsiblities of a Soul Reaper. People here sometimes call it, passing on. Now, I'll explain to you why I'm here and I'll use small words so you can understand it." She then reached in her top and pulled out a notebook. "There are two types of spirits in this world." Maya blanched and Ichigo looked surprised at the choice of drawings.

"The first kind are the normal spirits, called Wholes. The ghosts that you two normally see are this kind," pointing at an atrocious drawing of a bunny with a typical bunny smile and terribly drawn hearts around it. Apparently the smile and the hearts were supposed to indicate it was good.

_'It seems she's infatuated with Chappy,' _Maya observed.

"The second kind are evil spirit, known as Hollows." Maya's eyes closed as she clenched her fists.

"The Hollows attack people, living or dead, in order to devour their souls." Rukia finished as she pointed at another bunny, signature white, which was supposedly representing evil with its eyebrows. The background was horribly colored black with lightning bolts dancing around behind the menacing rabbit.

_'Even though I'm use to hearing it, it still hurts everytime I hear it because I know that I took lives only to devour their souls.' _

"Any questions before I go on?" Rukia asked.

"First of all, why do your drawings suck so bad?" Ichigo questioned and Rukia drew a curly mustache on Ichigo and capped the marker and began tossing the marker up and catching it repeatedly.

"You'll pay for this!" Ichigo exclaimed as Rukia sat down again.

"Let us continue with our lesson, monsueir. There are two main jobs for Soul Reapers. First, to lead Wholes to the Soul Society through Konsō, as I just did. Second, to exercise the Hollows, wherever we may find them." Rukia explained.

"The Hollow with the bug body this afternoon, why was it chasing that girl?" Ichigo asked.

"That I don't know. We have yet to fully understand what motivates the Hollows to do the things they do." Rukia answered and Maya's head snapped up when she heard a crash.

"What was that?!" Ichigo asked but seemingly Rukia didn't hear it and continued on with her explanation.

"What we do know is that there is a second Hollow hiding somewhere nearby."

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Go out and kill it." Ichigo said.

"I would, but I can't seem to detect its location," she frowned, head lowered, seemingly embarrassed, "Usually, I have no trouble finding a Hollow that's close by. But here, it seems like my senses are being jammed by some powerful forc-"

Maya rolled her eyes. "I thought you Soul Reapers were suppose to be good at sensing these things. What are you, deaf?" She snapped and Rukia frowned.

"There's something huge howling out there!" Ichigo exclaimed again, "That sound has to be a Hollow!"

"Something howling? What do you mean?" Rukia questioned and Maya would have facepalmed if it wasn't for the situation.

Another howl thundered outside. Rukia lifted her face, realization dawning on her. She had finally heard it and her blood froze.

She got up quickly, hand on hilt, stance defensive, wide violet eyes scanning around her, while Ichigo was still a heap on the floor. "Now, I hear it! Definitely a Hollow!" she said, stating the obvious.

"That's what I've been telling you!" Ichigo growled from the floor, his eyes suddenly widening when he heard a scream. "That's Yuzu!"

Maya stood from the bed as Rukia rushed towards the door, suddenly stopping, her violet eyes wide as a tremendous wave of energy stopped her in her tracks. It was so powerful, she could hardly move.

"Hey wait! Untie me!" Ichigo yelled, furiously as he struggled against the Kidō that was binding him.

"Ichigo…" Hearing pained moans, Maya watched as Yuzu heaved, every breath aching with pain, body bruised and weak. She limped towards her brother's room collapsing forward as her legs gave way.

Maya's eyes widened ans she rushed towards the girl, managing to catch her before Yuzu hit the ground and gently settled the girl down. "Yuzu! What happened?" Ichigo gasped from inside, concern edging his voice roughly.

His younger sister struggled to sit up, eyes bruised and swollen as she looked at her brother, "I-Ichigo, Karin's been…" she struggled to continue, voice shaking. "Ichigo, you've gotta save her…" Yuzu said, pleading as the last of her energy was consumed and she collapsed again.

He growled viciously as the chains refused to yield, frustration and anger contorting his face. "Hey!" he snarled at the Rukia, "You've gotta let me go!"

A scream rang loud and clear through the night and Maya's head snapped to the side as Rukia stood up quickly, ignoring Ichigo's yells and in a flash she was gone.

"Hey! I've gotta break free!" Desperation racked Ichigo's brain, thundered in his blood, and sped the pace of his heart. His muscles endlessly strained against invisible binds as he snapped at the ground with his teeth, ferociously attempting to escape. Slowly, struggling, Ichigo managed to bring two of his feet up under him so he was now balanced on top of them.

_'That's impossible,'_ Maya thought as she stared at what was happening before her._ 'What kind of a human being is he?' She wondered before blinking. 'What the hell am I doing?' _

Standing up, the girl quickly searched for her Gikongan before popping the Mod Pill into her mouth, a familiar feeling washing over her. "Watch over Yuzu."

Thankful that she wasn't wearing her revealing Arrancar uniform, she was clad in a simple shihakushō, but instead of white obi sash, she wore a crimson one instead.

"Hop!" With that, Maya quickly rushed down the stairs, her feet barely touching the steps, her clothing billowing behind her. Time was of the essence, as she very well knew, it stood in the way of life and death. Leaping into a room, and glimpsing through the broken mess of a wall, Maya stood next to a wide-eyed Rukia.

"Yo-your a Soul Reaper?" Maya glanced at Rukia and frowned.

"No time for questions," she snapped and turned back towards the Hollow that held Karin in its grasp and she couldn't help but think back to the time when she was in the same position.

"Put me down!" Karin screeched at the creature that held her trapped. Maya gritted her teeth and unsheathed her katana, ready to charge but something tumbled down the stairs and she glanced at it and watched as Ichigo came into view.

"Stay out of it!" Rukia warned him, eyes ablaze.

Ichigo, arms still fastened behind him, crawled towards the armed woman, legs struggling against her incantation. "Damn it," he muttered as his legs refused to move under him.

"Ichigo..." 

…**..To be Continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya.

**humble servent: Well thank you for the compliment. I'll try to make it longer. And I'll try to write both at the same time, I'm just focusing on this one the most and Misguided Angel. But I'll try to update another chapter of Madness In Me if it would make you happy.**

**I thank everyone who has followed and favorited this story and some to those who have followed me. And I thank to all my silent readers as well.**

**Enjoy!**

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__**Recap: Standing up, the girl quickly searched for her Gikongan before popping the Mod Pill into her mouth, a familiar feeling washing over her. "Watch over Yuzu."**__

_**Thankful that she wasn't wearing her revealing Arrancar uniform, she was clad in a simple shihakushō, but instead of white obi sash, she wore a crimson one instead.**_

_**"Hop!" With that, Maya quickly rushed down the stairs, her feet barely touching the steps, her clothing billowing behind her. Time was of the essence, as she very well knew, it stood in the way of life and death. Leaping into a room, and glimpsing through the broken mess of a wall, Maya stood next to a wide-eyed Rukia.**_

_**"Yo-your a Soul Reaper?" Maya glanced at Rukia and frowned.**_

_**"No time for questions," she snapped and turned back towards the Hollow that held Karin in its grasp and she couldn't help but think back to the time when she was in the same position.**_

_**"Put me down!" Karin screeched at the creature that held her trapped. Maya gritted her teeth and unsheathed her katana, ready to charge but something tumbled down the stairs and she glanced at it and watched as Ichigo came into view.**_

_**"Stay out of it!" Rukia warned him, eyes ablaze.**_

_**Ichigo, arms still fastened behind him, crawled towards the armed woman, legs struggling against her incantation. "Damn it," he muttered as his legs refused to move under him.**_

_**"Ichigo..."**_

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"Ichigo..."

With wide-eyes, Maya couldn't help but stare as Ichigo struggled to a standing position and Rukia watched in shock, "How can he be on his feet when he's under my spell?" She whispered, moving slightly when he moved in front of her, "Fool, you'll only get in the way!"

He growled lowly, "Shut up!" He glared at the Hollow and spotted Karin in its grip, "Karin!" Ichigo started to pull apart his frozen arms, grunting in concentration.

"Stop!" Rukia commanded as Maya couldn't help but stare in awe. "Kidō is too strong for a human to break. If you keep trying you'll only cause damage to your soul!" She watched Ichigo's spiritual energy surround him as more layers broke and with a powerful yell, he released a powerful stream and the Kidō dissolved.

Ichigo stretched his freed arms as Rukia and Maya stared at him in disbelied. "He broke the Kidō." She whispered in astonishment. She blinked when Ichigo grabbed a chair before lunging towards the Hollow.

"Ichigo, stop!" Maya yelled as she watched Ichigo rush towards the Hollow, a yell escaping his lips as he charged towards it.

"Ichigo," Karin yelled. "Get me outta' here!" Swinging the chair towards the Hollow, his intention on hitting it, Maya's eyes widened when the Hollow merely raised its arm and swatted Ichigo away easily.

"Ichigo!" Maya yelled as she lunged towards the Hollow.

Ichigo struggled to sit up, "K-Karin." He coughed as the Hollow glanced at him.

"I found you!" It growled raising its hand before bringing it down upon Ichigo, said boy barely rolling out the way, his eyes widening as he noticed a flicker of silver pass by in his vision before watching as Maya brought her katana down with a shrill yell.

"Let her go you ugly bastard!" Slicing at the arm Karin was in, the Hollow gave a loud roar before dropping said girl, blood sprouting from its injured arm, Maya landed on the ground in silence, watching on as the Hollow retreated within the shadows before turning towards Ichigo who was now cradling Karin.

"Don't worry Ichigo," she spoke glancing at Rukia. "She'll be alright. The Hollow left without devouring either of your sisters soul." She informed ignoring the wide eyed expression from Rukia and her hand tightened around her katana.

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked, looking up at her

"Yes," Rukia decided to speak up. "It's seeking a specific soul to eat, one with a much higher concentration of spiritual energy. In fact, the Hollow earlier was hungry for that soul too and not the girl's." Rukia said as realization dawned on her

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked as Maya then in return glanced at him and Rukia.

"What she means is that for some reason, most of your spirit energy was hidden deep within until just now, when you needed it to save your sister. That's why she didn't sense anything unusual about you when she arrived," Maya started as Rukia nodded, her violet eyes widening at how much this mysterious girl really knew.

"It also explains why the Hollows haven't come after you. The spirit energy you have bottled up inside you started to pour out when you made contact with that young girl's ghost. As a result your soul became exposed. Those two Hollows today detected your soul through that girl; they were using here to track it down. Which means, the Hollows are really after you." Rukia finished as she glanced at Ichigo.

"Those things… want me?" He whispered in shock and Maya was about to say something when her head snapped to the side, raising her katana and slipped into a defensive stance as she watched the Hollow appear again.

"It's back. Get out of here!" Rukia yelled as she prepared herself.

Ichigo stood up, his face shadowed."No! Those vicious attacks on that poor girl, were because of me?" He inquired wide eyed and Maya winced lightly.

Rukia nodded, "That's one way to look at it."

"And now both of my sisters could wind up dead and the whole thing is my fault?" His eyes were wide with anger and fear for his sisters. He remembered the looks on both of their faces a few minutes before and grit his teeth, running past Rukia and Maya and into the street.

"Ichigo!" Maya yelled but he ignored her as he stood facing the Hollow, his eyes glaring and filled with hate.

"You coward! Quit attacking others, it's my soul you want. Come and get it. Fight me one on one you ugly bastard!" He yelled eyes flashing.

"You idiot!" Maya yelled as the Hollow gave out a loud roar before lunging towards the boy but before Maya could actually do something, her eyes widened as she watched Rukia leap in front of Ichigo, taking the blow, she pushed the Hollow back and managed to slice at its mask and the silver haired girl clenched her fists as she rushed towards the fallen girl.

Rukia panted on the ground, "You are a fool! How could you possibly have thought you were a match for a Hollow? Did you really think everything would be over if you gave him your soul? One soul doesn't satisfy them for long. If you don't stop interfering we're all going to end up as its food!" She spat, forcing herself into a crouched position but her violet eyes widened when Maya wrapped her arms around her, before flash stepping towards safety, gently leaning her against the lammpost.

"Thank you," Rukia mumbled as Ichigo stared wide eyed at Rukia. "I'm to injured to fight. Do you… want to save your family?" She asked.

Ichigo answered without hesitation. "Of course I do. No one else will die because of me!" He stated and looked at her with hoped filled eyes, "If there's a way tell me how!" She grimaced.

"It'll only be temporary, but you must become a Soul Reaper yourself!" Maya and Ichigo looked at her in shock as she continued, "You must take my Zanpakutō and run it through the center of your being so that I may pour my powers into you. I can't guarantee you will surivive but if it doesn't work it won't matter." Maya winced at the words but glanced at Ichigo.

His face was blank as he said, "Then give me that blade, Soul Reaper." Rukia smiled sadly up at him and placed her blade at his chest.

"My name is **Rukia**.** Rukia Kuchiki**." Standing up, Maya moved backwards as the Hollow started approaching them.

Ichigo stared at her, "And my name is **Ichigo Kurosaki**!" And with that he stabbed her Zanpakutō into his chest and the street erupted into a crushing spiritual pressure and Maya couldn't help but find herself frozen for a few moments, her eyes wide.

And from the surrounding spiritual pressure, Maya watched as the approaching Hollow suddenly roared out in pain, blood sprouting from its now missing arm.

And from the dust, Maya watched with wide eyes as Ichigo came within vision and stood clad in a simple black shihakushō but the thing that had her gasping aloud was the large zanpakutō he held in his hand.

"How did this happen? I meant to give him only half of my powers, but somehow he's taken nearly all of them!" Maya glanced towards Rukia, her eyebrows furrowing as she noticed that Rukia's shihakushō was now white instead of black.

"This ends now!" Ichigo yelled catching her attention and she turned her head to the side, watching on as Ichigo then lunged towards the Hollow._ 'I've never imagined that this would all happen. I didn't think everything would turn out like this. His spiritual power is insane. That's the most biggest zanpakut I have ever seen. What is he?'_ Maya thought as she watched Ichigo slice off the Hollow's leg before flash stepping towards Rukia and crouched down beside the wide eyed girl.

"What kind of a human being is he?" Rukia questioned as she glanced at Maya who's attention was now focused on Ichigo, a sigh escaping her lips.

"You'll pay the price for hurting my family. Now feel the wrath of my blade!" He yelled aloud before bringing his blade down, slicing the Hollow in half as Maya then returned her eyes towards Rukia.

"I honestly don't know," she spoke and watched with understanding eyes. "And I don't think we ever will."

Rukia glanced at Maya and frowned. "Who exactly are you?" Maya glanced at Rukia and stood.

"**Maya Hisashi**."

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**A/N: I know this is short, but I promise I will try to make these chapters longer. I can't promise anything but I'll try and make them longer. So what did you thing? Review please?**

**Oh and before I forget, I wanted to question you all if I should write a Transformers or The Hobbit fanfiction?**

**-MayaTheSoulReaper.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya.**

**Wow, you guys I didn't expect to get so many follows and favorites. I know most of you probably don't like OC involved stories but I promise this will be worht it and I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I will also be updating the next chapter of Misguided Angel tonight or tomorrow.**

**And now to answer my wonderful reviewers:**

**CheshireKat13: I was so happy when I read your review. I'm glad that you like it so far and I hope you will continue to like that which comes in the future.**

**Guest (You know who you are): Thank you for the wonderful review. It means so much to me to know that people like my story.**

**I also thank humble servent for always reviewing. I will not desert this story. I also would like to thank each and everyone who has followed and favorited. It keeps me going.**

**So enough about my babbling, here's the promised chapter I'm guessing some of you waited for.**

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**Where The Wild Roses Grow**

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"How do you even move in this thing?" A small sigh escaped Maya's lips as she found herself grumbling under her breath, her arms folded behind her she continued to listen but still yet not pay attention as the short raven haired girl beside her continued to grumble about how uncomfortable the Gigai was, cursing a certain orange haired boy's name under her breath every now and again.

Maya simply shrugged her shoulders and answered in a monotone voice, "You'll get use to it." Sensing her sudden change of mood, Rukia decided to quit her grumbling and stared up at the silver haired girl curiously, last nights happenings flashing through her mind.

Rukia frowned and couldn't help but ask the question that had been swirling through her mind the whole morning. "Are you a Soul Reaper?"

Her hands clenched beside her and Maya couldn't help the disgusted shiver that ran down her spine at the mention of being a Soul Reaper and out right cursed herself for being so stupid. She couldn't just admit she was an Arrancar. Swallowing her sudden distaste, Maya hummed. "You could say that."

The short raven haired girl nodded her head. "I see." Sensing the current discomfort rolling in waves from the tall silver haired girl beside her, Rukia didn't push on the subject and merely shifted the conversation to another topic. "That boy, Ichigo Kurosaki. Is he a friend of yours?"

Shifting her gaze to the petite girl next to her, Maya simply shrugged and shook her head. "Well I haven't known him for that long but I guess you could say he's a friend of mine. I don't know really," she rubbed the back of her head and was at lost with what to say else, so when the outline of Karakura High came in view, Maya couldn't help but sigh in relief. "So your in the same class as me and Ichigo."

_What a coincidence. Why am I not surprised?_ Maya added with a thought in her head as the two entered the premises of the High School, Rukia trailing behind the disguised Arrancar.

Sliding the door open, Maya was met with the site of a semi-full class and groaned lightly, her eyes sweeping over said classroom before landing on the owner of bright orange hair who was currently conversing with the group of friends surrounding him. "There's your target. Try not to scare him off." Maya instructed before walking towards her desk and with a grumble, plopped down.

Flickering her gaze towards Rukia as she approached Ichigo, Maya couldn't help but chuckle. Poor Ichigo, she thought and pushed away everything around her before looking out the window.

Closing her eyes, Maya thought back to what Kisuke had told her last night and couldn't help but wince. His anger, worry and dissapoinment was clear in his voice as he scolded her. And the reason why Maya woke up with tired and burning limbs this morning -cursing Kisuke's name under her breath- was all said man's fault.

**"Your hesitating," his voice echoed through her mind. "It doesn't matter how hard you try to avoid the subject. Your an Arrancar. Sooner or later your going to have to accept that fact and eventually learn the name of that Resurrección of yours."**

Her hands unknowingly clenched as she gritted her teeth but deep down, she knew that Kisuke was right. It didn't matter how hard she tried to deny it. The fact remained that she was an Arrancar and like it or not, she was going to have to accept it.

Leaning her head against the palm of her hand, she then flickered her gaze towards where she last assumed would be Rukia and Ichigo but frowned once noticing that the two in question was missing.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be one long ass day?" She grumbled, dreading the day to come already.

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**Where The Wild Roses Grow**

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"Alright you freaky little nutjob-," Maya crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the wall for support, her eyes flickering towards an outraged Kurosaki and towards the calm and collective face of the young Kuchiki. "What the hell do you think your doing?" The orange head yelled as Rukia merely stared at him innocently.

"How scary you big brute," she commented in a sweet voice that made Maya cringe. "Jeepers. Your not going to hurt me are you?"

Ichigo, seemingly also thinking what Maya was, pointed an accusing finger at the girl. "First of all, you can knock it off with that goodie two shoes act." He stated and she merely shrugged.

"Well I think its pretty good considering I learned it over night." Ichigo huffed and craned his head to the side, placing both hands on his hips.

"Alright just forget it. Just tell me what your doing here now anyway? Weren't you suppose to go back to your Soul Society or whatever it was?" Maya's hand twitched lightly, her eyebrows pushing together as she glared heatedly at the orange haired boy.

"I can't," Rukia stated as she stared at him. "Only Soul Reapers can go back to the Soul Society," she closed her eyes. "I haven't the power to return anymore."

Ichigo glanced at her confusedly as Maya pushed herself from the wall before standing next to the raven haired girl, her eyes intently focused on Ichigo. "What do you mean?" He questioned as Rukia remained with her head down.

"Last night I lost almost all of my powers as a Soul Reaper. I'm afraid they have all been absorbed into you Ichigo."

Said boy merely made a confused gesture under his breath. "Huh? I wouldn't know anything about that." He stated and flickered his eyes towards Maya.

"Thanks to you for the time being I'm stuck in this ridiculous Gigai form." She muttered as Maya yawned lightly, slapping a hand over her mouth she stretched.

Ichigo ignored the odd happening and frowned. "Huh? What do you mean by Gigai?" He questioned and before Rukia could answer, Maya did for her.

Pointing a finger at herself and Rukia, Maya explained. "Its temporary body that serves as a vessel in an emergency. If a Soul Reaper is drastically weakened, they reside with inside of a Gigai until their powers come back." Ichigo nodded as he finally understood how everyone else could see Rukia.

"Precisely and so," Rukia trailed off before extending her hand towards Ichigo. "Until all of my powers come back, its up to you Ichigo to perform the duties of a Soul Reaper."

Ichigo's eyes widened comically as the question marks floated in the green background behind him, his eyebrows scrunched together as Rukia went on. "Its only natural. You now posses the strength of a Soul Reaper. You do not have the right to refuse your calling-," that seemed to snap him out his haze and he quickly crossed his arms in a **'x'** shape over his chest.

"No way!" Rukia stared at him in disbelief and Maya merely sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"My monster fighting days are over. That was a one time deal. Maya's a Soul Reaper so why can't she do it?" He asked and Maya's hands clenched and Rukia, ignorning the suggestion leaned forward.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ichigo. You did just fine yesterday." She consulted and Ichigo merely dropped his hands, a sudden serious expression falling on his features.

"That was only because my family was in danger. But its not like I'm ready to go and fight for complete strangers or anything. Sorry to disappoint you." He said and turned around, casting a last glance at Maya before walking away.

Sighing, Maya outstretched her palm and tapped Rukia on the shoulder before snapping her fingers. "I do believe you have this thing called a Gokon Tekkō?" Rukia merely blinked and took the red glove from her jacket pocket and handed it to Maya. Said girl blinked at the white skull and sighed before putting it on her hand.

"Hey!" Rukia yelled for Ichigo's attention just as Maya took off. The orange haired boy turned around, his eyes widening as he saw Maya sprinting towards him, her hand swinging forward before said hand connected with his chin, forcing his soul from his body.

Standing beside Rukia with her arms placed behind her back, Maya watched with an amused expression as Ichigo stared wide eyed at her and then towards his body who was currently laying face first on the ground. "Crap! What happened to my body?" He yelled and glanced at his hands. "What the hell did you do with me?" He demanded and Maya simply smiled.

"Follow me." Rukia instructed and Maya glanced at the petite raven haired girl and gulped. Not even she dared defy that order and watched as Ichigo too gulped and obidiently followed behind Rukia.

"Don't worry," she waved at the two. "I'll make sure to look after his body!" Ichigo went to retort but Rukia swiftly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to wherever.

Huffing, she glanced at Ichigo's body. "You know strawberry, I think this is a start of a good friendship." And with that being said, the silver haired girl merely hooked her arms underneath his armpits and procceeded to drag him to a hide out. "Wouldn't want to raise any suspicions." She stated and glanced down, her eyes widening and a blush adorned her cheeks.

And only then did she realize that Ichigo's face was comfortably nuzzled in between her breasts and she almost dropped him and it was at that moment, she was grateful that Ichigo wasn't here to see this or otherwise she would have crawled into the deepest corners of Hell.

"Well thank Kami that he's not here."

But all though she rejoiced the he wasn't here to see the embarassing moment, Maya didn't think that this image would ever, ever leave her mind and she cursed under her breath. "Not a single word."

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**Where The Wild Roses Grow**

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**A/N: I know its a little short but I promise the next chapter will be a little longer and finally, we get to see some flashbacks of Maya's past and a shocking revealing of our disguised Arrancar.**

**What will happen next? That's what I'm wondering and thanks to all those who have read and stayed with this story. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Oh and before I end it, I have been busy with a ByakuyaxOrihime story and have been wondering whether I should Publish it. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya.**

**Thank you for favoritng and following. It means so much to me :D**

**And now for my reviewers.**

**Kurochan12: I'm glad you like it and I hope you will in the future. It means a lot to me that I know you enjoy how I write things and thanks for the review. It means a lot to me.**

**Charlie (Guest): I'm glad that you love the story and I'm glad that you like my little twist. I wanted this story to be unique in a way so this idea came up. I will never abandon this story and will continue with it. I am also excited to see where this story will be going :) Thanks for your review. It means a lot to me.**

**And to everyone else who had stayed and read. Now enough about my babbling.**

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All was silent as the moon illuminated the town below, providing a small sense of hope for those who took refuge in said town. The shadows moved about in the darkness, lurking at every corner that the moon dared not touch, for even the moon knew of what the darkness that laid untouched beyond its borders.

The distant sound of thunder echoed through the night as flashes of lightning burst from the darkened sky, all together shattering the silence in seconds and not soon after, rain descended from the skies and far in the distance, it silenced the howling of a beast prowling for its prey.

Sniffing the air, a throaty growl escaped the beasts mouth as it moved about the shadows; a sense of raw power radiated from this large beast. And even the thunder couldn't compare with each step of its large and powerful hind limbs that seemed to echo alongside the thunder.

With a small shake of its massive head, the beast reeled back and with a mighty roar, it echoed through the night and for those that listened closer, the sound was filled with hatred, anger and hunger.

A hunger that never faded, a hunger that never disappeared. It was the type of hunger that was never satisfied or quenched.

Jaws aching to move, the beast sniffed the air once more before finally moving in on its target. And with no moment of hesitation to spare, it gave one push of its hind legs and lunged.

And as the occupants of the town moved about, rushing and avoiding the harsh rain from above, nobody blinked an eye or craned their head as screams shattered in the night.

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Maya Hisashi awoke with a gasp as she bolted upright from her futon, her eyes wide and her chest rising up and down.

Blinking as her vision blurred, she raised her hands and rubbed her eyes, before said eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness that surrounded her. "What the hell?"She muttered before placing a hand over her still speeding heart. Feeling a wet substance trailing from her cheek, she wiped it away only to learn that the wet substance was tears.

Shaking her head, Maya took a deep breath as she tried to control her breathing and her pounding heart that hammered against her chest, threatening to explode at any given moment and a feeling of utter despair and guilt washed over her and the disguised Arrancar wondered how could such a silly little nightmare have such a massive effect on her.

Yawning slightly, she was suddenly startled as a whisper echoed through her mind, **_"My child, you are no monster. No matter what, we will always be there for you, Maya. I forgive you my child."_** Feminine. The voice had warmth, kindness and a motherly tone to it.

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and laid back down on her futon, making sure to keep her reiatsu low as possible, not wanting it to alert the others in the shop. Taking a deep breath, Maya thought of anything else that could distract her mind and with a huff, the silver haired Arrancar fell back to sleep with a clouded mind and a heavy heart.

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"Hear my voice oh lord, help your humble child understand why she was born and if your divine will wishes it, summon her back to your side. I await your-" a startled yell escaped Rukia's lips as she stumbled back.

"Geez, would you shut the hell up!" The orange haired boy yelled as Rukia in return glared up at him.

"What is your problem? I am studying contemporary language." She replied as Ichigo merely looked down at her.

Ichigo simply shoved his hands in his pockets and continued to stare down at Rukia. "Your off by a couple of centuries. So tell me, how long do you plan on following me around?"

Rukia merely smiled. "Until you answer your calling as a Soul Reaper." Ichigo merely scoffed at the idea, muttering something under his breath and turned around but stopped once the sound of screeching tires reached their ears.

Turning around, the two watched as a car sped away but blinked as they caught sight of a familiar silver haired girl leaning over someone. "Maya?" Ichigo questioned as him and Rukia rushed towards the scene, finally able to see who Maya was leaning over.

Blinking as her name was called, Maya glanced backwards and blinked as she saw Ichigo and Rukia rushing towards them. "Hey! Orihime!" At the sudden sound of Ichigo's voice, said girl's eyes widened and she looked up.

"Ichigo?" Said boy merely looked down at her in disbelief and slight concern.

"Did you just get hit by that car?" He questioned and she merely glanced down muttering a 'Maybe' under her breath and Maya rolled her eyes. This girl could be such a dummy at times. "What do you mean by maybe. Are you going to be alright?"Maya went to help her friend up, but deadpanned when she jumped up.

She stood and smiled and him, "Mm hmm! It was just a little bump on my head! Don't worry I'm fine I swear!" She said, looking at him with a thumbs up. Maya rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Are you sure you're ok? Where'd that car go that hit you?" Ichigo questioned and Maya's eyes drifted towards Rukia, frowning slightly.

Orihime paused and looked around before pointing and smiling, "It drove away." She said, with a happy smile.

Ichigo almost face-palmed. "Orihime!" Said girl's face grew sad as she apologized, making Ichigo's eyebrow twitch before scratching his cheek, "Well alright. I guess as long as you're ok." He said, looking away, his eyes silently flickering towards the familiar silver haired girl.

Orihime then looked up, spotting the raven haired girl. "Rukia?" She asked confused as to why to the new transfer student was with Ichigo, actually surprised to see the girl with said boy.

"That's right and just who are you?" She asked rather rudely. Ichigo turned to her sharply and leaned forward. "Hello! She's in the same class as you. Her name is Orihime. Get your head outta' your butt." Maya furrowed her brows and shook her head.

Rukia smiled suddenly, putting on her sweet facade. "Oh, Orihime. How are you?" She dropped in a low curtsy making Maya gawk. How could someone go from being so rude to so nice in a blink.

The imaginative ginger blinked at the change of tone and smiled, "Oh, I'm great, thank you." She said, the dazed smiled back on her face. Rukia smiled bright.

"Well now, it appears you have been shopping." Orihime's eyes widened, "Oh, that's right. My dinner!" She picked the bag up off the street and grinned at the two of them, a leek in her hand, "My leeks, butter, bananas and bean jam seem to have made it too!" She said, giggling.

_**'Why does that sound so repulsive but yet intruiging in a way? There must be something wrong with that concution.'**_

But nonetheless Maya blanched, wondering why she had actually agreed to come along, if she knew that would end up being in her stomach, the disguised arrancar would have never even agreed to go. She grimanced before her eyes caught on a bruise wrapped around her leg. Her eyes widened as she sensed the energy of a hollow and she quickly flickered her gaze towards Rukia, it seemed she noticed it too. "How did you get that bruise on your leg?"

Orihime stopped and looked down confused, "What bruise? Oh, I guess that happened just now when the car ran into me?" Maya raised a eyebrow at Rukia seeing the thoughtful look on the Soul Reaper's face.

"Geez. That must hurt." Ichigo said and in return the girl looked at her and smiled.

"A little bit, but I'm ok." Orihime stated, the smile not faltering. Maya shrugged as she smiled. "If your so sure." Ichigo mumbled as he watched Rukia examine the bruise.

"Um, what's the matter Rukia?" Orihime asked, looking down at the kneeling girl. "Is something wrong."

Rukia sweat dropped, "Oh, right… well, you take care!" She said in a sweet voice as she cocked her head slightly to the side.

"Right, thanks." Orihime said, confusion written on her face before glancing at Maya and smiled. "Well let's get going then." Maya nodded and flickered her gaze towards Ichigo and Rukia.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Ichigo suddenly asked. Orihime's eyes widened slightly before she waved it away, "No I'm fine., really! See ya!" She turned and walked away happily, craning her head from side to side, watching out for any passing traffic before she and Maya walked over the street.

Glancing over her shoulder, Maya simply gave a two finger wave at a still staring Ichigo, a calm but yet serious looking Rukia before following after Orihime.

A thought wavered in Maya's head as she thought about what just transpired and couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the auburn haired girl beside her and raised a eyebrow. "Are you sure your alright?" Maya questioned and Orihime nodded her head smiling.

"Don't worry Maya-chan, you worry to much." Orihime trailed off making the silver haired girl sigh in defeat. "If you say so." Maya murmured. Flickering her gaze about, Maya took in the unknown surroundings, considering the fact that she hadn't been at this part of town or any part of said town either, this was all still a mystery to her.

Maya Hisashi wasn't your typical outdoor girl, adding the fact that she isn't normal at all. The only times she had ever left the safety and close observation of Urahara's Shop was when she went to school or that one time when she went to the Kurosaki Clinic to explain things to one, Kurosaki Ichigo.

But something still troubled her. She wasn't use to all the sudden attention that was being showered upon her. She was fine with being the shadow in the background. She was fine with being left alone. She was fine sitting at the back of class, invisible to all prying eyes around her. The fact of the matter remained; Maya Hisashi disliked attention but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to hate it.

But behind that troubled feeling, was a sense of comfort of finally being noticed. Of finally being able to talk to someone without them glaring or running away.

Taking a deep breath, Maya closed her eyes as she wished for just a moment that she could be a normal human girl going about the daily things that life offered.

But yet again, not everything can go as you wish and Maya would soon learn that being normal wouldn't cut it.

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**Author Note: Ahh! I know its rather short, I haven't abanonded it. I was busy with Exams and stuff but as I promised, here it is :D Tell me what you think. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya Hisashi. **

**I'm so sorry for the long delay. I was on a bad writer's block but something inspired me again. You guys, I am so happy and so proud. I never expected this story to get so many views but it did. And now for the celebrations. As of today, Where The Wild Roses Grow stands at 2, 178 views. Thanks for all the support. It means so much to me. **

**And now for my wonderful reviewers:**

**the below average: I'm glad that you love this story. It feels nice to know that you think I'm not like most authors and don't worry as for the fall in love instantly story, there won't be any romance for a long time. Maybe at the end of the Bount Arc or maybe at the start of the Arrancar Arc. But for now, no romance. **

**humble servent: You have been the one reviewer who has reviewed for each and every chapter. I'm sorry that the previous chapter felt rushed. It was suppose to move a little plot, therefor there's an OC in. But if everyone felt like it moved plot please do tell. **

**And thanks to all those who followed and favorited. I appreciate it so much. And now enjoy. **

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**Where The Wild Roses Grow**

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Raising an eyebrow ever so slightly, the silver haired teen watched Inoue's expression carefully, a single roll of the eyes had Maya smiling in amusement. "Great! Home made beef and potatoes." Orihime gushed as she took a big munch out of said bowl of food, a small hum escaping her lips as she closed her eyes in bliss.

"Oh boy," glancing at her personal savior, Maya laughed at the expression Tatsuki gave. "This is delicious." Tatsuki smiled in appreciation as Maya leaned towards said girl, making sure that the sudden movement didn't catch Orihime's eye.

"Remind me to thank your mom when I see her." Tatsuki chuckled slightly and nodded her head as they both turned towards their orange haired friend.

Tatsuki sighed as she grunted from her spot. "I swear if I don't bring meals over for you to eat, you always end up cooking the weirdest stuff." Orihime stopped eating as she looked at Tatsuki and Maya.

"Hmm. I never thought about it. You really think so?" Orihime questioned and both Tatsuki and Maya nodded in unison, a serious expression on Tatsuki's face.

"Huh, yeah. I mean what is this stuff?" Tatsuki asked as Maya silently ate her bowl of beef stew, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two friends. Glancing at Tatsuki, Maya frowned and before she could stop herself blurted out,"Orihime, did you tell Tatsuki?" She questioned and said girl glanced up confused before looking at Orihime.

"Huh? Tell me what?" Maya sighed as she settled her bowl down and turned towards Tatsuki.

"Orihime was hit by a car today." Tatsuki's eyes widened. She leaned over the table and looked at her auburn-orange haired friend, her eyes skimming over the busty teen's features for any sign of injuries.

"What? You were hit by a car?!" She yelled as Orihime shook her head, her eyes flickering towards Maya, her eyes pleading the disguised Arrancar for help but instead said Arrancar merely smiled innocently before going back to eating her bowl of beef stew.

Orihime sighed slightly. "Honestly, I'm fine. Ichigo and Rukia..." Before the poor girl could finish her sentence, Tatsuki yet again leaned towards the table.

"What? They were together?" She yelled, not missing a beat and letting Orihime explain, all the while making Maya wince.

Orihime nodded her head and smiled. "But they were just walking home together, Tatsuki", she then glanced at Maya. "Right?" Not knowing what to do, Maya nodded her head and gulped down her food.

"Yeah..." She trailed off as Tatsuki sat back with a huff. Orihime continued to eat on the beef stew as Tatsuki crossed her arms.

"Oh man. I never knew Ichigo was such a smooth operator. I mean honestly he didn't even walk you home when you were hurt." Maya shook her head, this time taking Ichigo's side.

"Well, no, but he did ask me if I wanted him to walk me home but I..." Orihime trailed off before going into one of her dazes, Maya's eyes widening as she watched.

It would seem that this specimen in front of her was more beauty than brains because this girl had one overactive imagination. Maya had herself wondering if this girl was even sane to begin with but nonetheless it felt nice to be surrounded by normal people.

But now watching the girl imitate of being a robot, that last statement made Maya slightly change her mind.

"Hey, wake up! You're daydreaming again," Tatsuki said in a defense position from Orihime's sudden outburst, glancing slightly to see Maya's stunned expression.

"Where does she even think these things up from?" Maya asked as she stared at her friend who waved her hand at them. An sudden tension filled the room and uneasy feeling bubbled in her stomach as the room seemed to tremmor.

Maya's hands tightened as she felt a Hollow's presence but she frowned. She couldn't quite identify where the Hollow was but whatever and whoever it was, she could make out one dominant feeling: **Hunger**.

But she couldn't act now. Not when Orihime and Tatsuki were in danger. "Did you hear that?" Tatsuki asked as Orihime seemed to come out from her daze as everyone glanced behind her. Shaking the sudden happening off, Orihime turned towards Tatsuki.

"I didn't hear anything," she huffed as Tatsuki stared at her friend with a dumbfounded expression. "Wow. That was the best dinner ever." She exclaimed and Tatsuki along with Maya nodded.

Not wanting to bother Orihime with nonsense, Tatsuki merely shook off her nerves and nodded. "Yeah it was." Tatsuki stated.

"I don't have any ice-cream," Orihime babbled on but something pink caught her attention and everyone glanced behind Orihime. A gasp escaped Orihime's lips as she crawled towards the fallen plush toy as she and Tatsuki stood up. "Poor Enraku fell down. Oh my gosh," they slowly walked towards Orihime and stood behind the girl. "How'd you get this big rip in your head?"

Maya narrowed her eyes dangerously as she felt a Hollow's presence within the pink teddy-bear but no sound came out. There was a sudden crash in the distance as Maya stood on alert. The crashing sound repeated as Tatsuki glanced around.

A strange sound echoed around the room as Maya's eyes widened before her hands tightened. "Can my life not be normal for once?" She asked quietly before she glanced down towards Orihime and gasped as drople of red liquid fell unto the floor.

Orihime's hand trembled as she stared wide-eyed at her palm. "What? Is this blood?" She questioned and Maya stumbled back, biting on a scream as a clawed hand shot from out the plush toy and impaled itself threw Orihime's chest, throwing the girl back.

Instinct kicked in and Maya rushed towards the girl, "Orihime!"

Tatsuki's eyes widened as she looked at the scene before her. "What? Orihime?!" Maya couldn't voice her thoughts for her friend to dash out the way and watched with a grim expression as the hollow slammed his hand against Tatsuki, sending the girl flying towards the wall.

"What the hell? Why am I bleeding?" Tatsuki questioned as she stared at her ripped shoulder before finding herself flung aside again, rolling on the ground harshly.

Tatsuki sat up with a pained groan as she glanced around, seeing her friend staring horrified at something. "Something's here", Tatsuki mumbled. "But I don't see anything." She whispered and Maya huffed before reaching for the Mod Pill in her pocket before popping it in her mouth.

She stared with a hardened gaze at the snake-like Hollow, her hand gripping the katana with a vice-grip and blinded by her rage, she never saw it coming until it was to late.

**"MAYA!"**

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**To be continued...**

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**A/N: *Runs away and hides behind a tree* Please don't kill me! I know its a little to short for the long time period I didn't update but I promise I'm working on a longer one. Thanks for everyone's support ^_^ Please Review and tell me what you think. **

**MayaTheSoulReaper**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I merely own Maya. **

**OMG! I am such a horrible Author -sniffs- I am so sorry for not updating in a long time and I hope this chapter will make up for it.**

**As you can see I had some writers block and didn't know what to write so my brain came up with this. I'm sorry if you are dissapointed in this chate hardest to make it seem realistic in every possible ways. I'm so grateful to all og you guys and thanks for reading this story. So enough about my babbling. Let's start reading!**

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**Coward. **

**Betrayer. **

**Useless. **

**What is this?**

Believing that she would merely stand in the way; somehow knowing that someone else was more capable of handing this on their own, Maya, like the coward she was at that moment, fled and never looked back. She couldn't stand to be there any longer. What could she have done? She didn't know what to do or how to react.

At that very moment, she had wished that everything was back as to what it was suppose to be. She being that girl that blended in the background, unseen and unheard. This was the reason that she shut herself out; this was the reason that she never made friends, always staying a distance away, believing that if she would ever get attatched, something or someone would take them away from her and that pain, she would never be able to handle.

She couldn't stand to look in their eyes anymore; knowing that she could have done something to help but instead of protecting them, she fled. Knowing that someone else would do that job for her, something she could never have done.

She wasn't that person. She would never be that person. She couldn't be that person, could she? She just couldn't see herself as the someone who everyone looked up to, she couldn't see that everyone expected her to be the hero.

She was a coward for running. She was a coward when she should have stayed her ground.

But she wasn't that girl anymore. She wasn't that girl anymore. In that brief moment that she allowed my bitter rage to get ahold of her, where she was flung across the room, time seemed to stand still for her.

She felt like a little girl again, at that moment. She felt like nothing could stop her. She was free to do what she pleased in a world that she didn't know today. But then reality would slap her in the face, "Grow up, kid. This isn't some fairy tale you live in."

It took a few moments for her to come to but she was already running, her thoughts running in all kinds of directions, she just needed a get away from it all.

She wasn't the girl she used to be. She wasn't normal in any kinds of standard. Hell. She wasn't even human and yet still, why did she let these emotions and feelings get the better of her?

Was her life more valuable than theirs? No. In any case, she should be the one that deserved death and suffering. So why was she running? She never did have the answers to everything, so she did not know how to answer her own questions.

It was better if everyone kept their distance from her; it would save them the time and she knew that by staying away from everyone; she would be protecting them instead of causing their death, she would be doing them a favor.

Little did she know that Fate and Destiny had other things in mind.

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It didn't take much to convince Kisuke into letting her stay at home today; well apart from going to the shops for grocery this morning, it wasn't that hard to convince someone as Kisuke Urahara.

She just couldn't find it within herself to go back to school and face them after what happened last night; knowing she could have helped but instead she fled like a coward. She couldn't go back and pretend as if nothing happened and plaster a fake smile.

Arrancars were once Hollows and she doubt that a Hollow would feel any pain, remorse or guilt. So why was she, an Arrancar, feeling these emotions? But still, she couldn't find the will to become an motionless monster. She would never allow that. But she didn't have a heart, did she?

So why was she running?

That question had been keeping her awake the whole night and her never came up with the right answer to justify her actions?

Would they judge be? Would they call her names? Was she really a coward? Yes. She was one for running away from something she was capable of doing. She chose not to stay and protect her friends.

Physically it felt like she could demolish a tank but emotionally, she couldn't easily tell what was wrong with her?

Why couldn't things go back to the way they were? Countless of times she had simply wished to vanish from this world, cease to exist and just fade away. Was this how guilt felt? It wasn't a rather beautiful feeling. It made me feel useless.

The Darkness was Darker than the Night. There were no dreams. There was only the endless abyss. She had no breath, no heartbeat, no rhythm of life. She floated in the void. There was simply nothing.

Did she treasure her life above her friends? Could she stand and watch as her friends would become nothing more than distant memories?

She stared into the void, the vast nothingness. Surrounded by blackness, she drifted perplexed; she lay in a state of utter confusion. Where was she? It was a frigid vacuum of space, where only she seemed to exist. A thought entered her mind; was this the real reality? A whisper crept to her ear; was the existence she thought was real all just an illusion, or maybe, a dream?

As she floated through these horrifying evaluations of her thoughts, there were no welcoming eddies in the endless abyss to console her.

No escape; she could hear the suggestion of a voice. This must be real, she reflected. All around her hovered thoughts, aspirations, intentions. Her body, still existent, seemed gone. She drifted freely; no rules of gravity bound her. She saw nothing; only the never- ending void was there to confide in. The everlasting darkness unresponding, she had only herself. Her voice echoed in the emptiness; it mirrored her disturbingly baffled thoughts. Afraid, but in awe, the girl stare into the alcove of the ceaseless chasm.

The essence of the miserable oblivion overtook the girl's entire being. Wondering the time in which she would be liberated from this bleak prison, the girl plummeted into unfathomable melancholy. Her search for the Light was like a search for air; she was drowning, lungs filling with icy liquid. All seemed lost.

"You left us to die! Why did you run, Maya?" She felt nothing as these words echoed through her mind, piece by piece it felt like something was ripped from her. "You could have saved us, aren't we your friends?"

She wanted to scream out to them. Bef the voices to seize their endless torment but she felt like she deserved it. She deserved the pain, the guilt and the anguish.

When consciousness kissed the girl's sleepy lids, she woke to a realization that she nearly drowned in her own tears. Although this insight frightened her, she also wished for it. She wished for death; she longed for the darkness to swallow her. The girl's tortured soul screamed helplessly inside her. In her mind, all was lost; there was no way out. The atmosphere of this terrible hollow was frigid, and it turned the soul of any being bitter.

The cold returned. It was not painful this time, however, merely unpleasant. She was aware of shivering. She shook so hard she felt she had no control over her limbs. Her teeth clacked painfully.

And with a started yell, her body shot upwards, her hand clenching over her pounding chest, exactly where her heart should have been, a thought lingering in her mind.

**If this pain feels so real, am I capable of having a heart?**

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Author Note: Well there it is! I hope you enjoyed it. Hope it doesn't dissapoint. Please review, flames are welcomed.


	10. Chapter Ten: Cursed Parakeet

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach in any shape or form. I merely own Maya.

**Thank you all for the wonderful favorites and follows. Now to answer my wonderful reviewers.**

**Sonata Fuling:** Thank you for your review. I am aware that this was a rather dark and emotional chapter but I wanted to develop her character more. I didn't want her to be seen as just another OC in a story. I wanted to make her seem human even if she isn't. And don't worry, this chapter might be late but it is updated ^-^

**the below average: **Awe ^^ Thank you for your wonderful review. I know this chapter is a little late but as promised, it is here.

**humble servent**: As I said, I know this is a rather dark chapter and as for it clashes with other chapters, I wish to ask you why you would say something like that? I thank you for your review ^-^

**Kurochan12:** Thank you for the review ^-^ Its a pleasure!

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**Where The Wild Roses Grow**

**Chapter Ten: Cursed Parakeet.**

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An ambulance siren could be heard in the not too distant streets.

"A cursed cockatiel?" the boy asked in disbelief as he looked at the bird inside the cage, his eyes sceptical at the new information.

"Well, all its previous owners died some kind of violent death..." the other boy replied, slightly nervous to be talking about such a subject.

"Really? That's freaky..."

There was a short pause. Glances were given amongst the two.

"Shigeo, you want it?" the one who had brought the bird in the first place asked, he must have been told to get rid of it, or maybe it was just a hunch. The poor boy didn't want to end up dead like the previous owner.

"What? After what you just said? Hell no!" he backed away a bit to prove his point; he wanted nothing to do with the cursed bird.

Glancing towards the familiar mexican, he raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Chad, how about you, it's cute...?" Said person looked at the bird and for a while silence ensued between the group but nonetheless, he had to admit, the bird was rather cute.

"Stop it man, you know Chad has a weakness towards cute things." Shigeo whined aloud as he tried to change Chad's mind.

They were next to a construction site, a long way above them, something blurry moved, although none of them noticed it. One of the steel girders that wasn't properly secured somehow fell over the edge, straight towards the group on the ground. The bird shrieked and started flapping about with its wings.

Hunched over, a steel girder lightly bent across his back and head, a grunt escaped Chad's lips.

"Chad... are you okay?" the boy who had brought the bird there asked in disbelief, his eyes wide.

"It's nothing." a substantial amount of blood came down from his forehead and the two stared at him in utter shock.

"Nothing? You're bleeding!" They exclaimed but all was silent when the so called "Cursed Parakeet" spoke.

"My name is Shibata Yūichi, what is your name mister?" the bird asked, intrigued by the man who just saved them all.

"What is with this bird, it's talking like a real person!" Shigeo said, once again backing away slightly to prove that his assumption was correct. This Parakeet was cursed.

"What is your name mister?" Yūichi Shibata questioned again.

It took a moment for the tall mexican to answer. "Yasutora Sado, I'm 15 years old." He introduced himself as worried glances were shot between the other remaining two.

"Check it out. Chad's interested in the bird."

* * *

"I'm going now!" To be fair, Maya didn't actually know why she bothered announcing her departure; due to the fact that nobody even cared. Well pretended not to care.

Sighing loudly under her breath, the silver haired girl slowly made her way towards school; her mind void of any thoughts, blocking anything that could remind her of that night out.

She was still hesitant to return to school, knowing a certain orange haired boy and a Soul Reaper with no powers would be hot on her trails; asking questions left and right, demanding where she had been or wanting to know why the hell she didn't do to help Orihime and Tatsuki.

But in that moment, Maya honestly didn't know what to say or do, but in their opinion, they had every right to question her actions. She scoffed as she kicked at a pebble, watching as it flew through the air. "I wish I could have a humanity switch. If so, mine would be off permanent. These emotions. So disgusting." She had been so different before she discovered her true nature.

She wasn't so violent, so distant and so cold. But now, it honestly felt like her humanity was slipping away and though it sounded awesome not feel or have any emotions, the thought of it sounded horrible.

Silence followed her as she walked towards the massive structure known as Karakura High School; the sound of her feet hitting the pavement ringing in her ears as she blocked out all around her. It would have been a lot easier if she could just flash-step towards her destination but what would a sane person do if they saw a silver haired girl disappearing and the appearing a further distance away?

And besides, she didn't want to be grounded for another week and have double chores to do around the house, managing Jinta's work was hard enough, considering as the red haired boy always made sure to torment her for every second she was doing his chores for the day. Ugh! What she wouldn't sacrifice just to shove a Cero down his throat.

It didn't take long for Maya to reach her destination, and soon realized that it was lunch already. Mustering up enough courage, Maya found herself walking towards the spot where she knew Tatsuki and Orihime were. She had to at least start somewhere; Tatsuki and Orihime were the first ones she felt the need to apologize to.

Sitting underneath their familiar shade, Maya sighed as she approached the group, her hands trembling but soon vanished when a familiar busty haired girl flung herself at the silver haired girl; said girl's eyes widening as she stumbled back.

"Oh Maya," the girl gushed catching everyone in the group's attention. "I'm so glad your alright! I thought that the sumo wrestler who crashed into my house turned out to be alien in disguise," she took a deep breath. "And that he kidnapped you and did all kinds of experiments on you!" Looking at Maya expectantly, the grey eyed girl didn't blink as she observed her silver haired friend.

Staring at her friend with a dumbfounded expression, "Sumo Wrestler? Disguised Alien? Experiments?" Maya murmured with a raised eyebrow as Tatsuki stood from her comfortable sitting position.

"Don't mind her overactive imagination Maya," Tatsuki stated. "She's on one of those daydreams again." Blinking at the tom boy, Maya barely had time to reply before Orihime yanked her towards the group, blabbering about something with red bean paste and honey.

* * *

"Geez there's not even a trace of that burn left," Kurosaki Ichigo exclaimed aloud. "It's nearly healed in just one day." Rubbing his forehead, Kuchiki Rukia stood behind him, a grin on her face at the compliment.

"Don't be so surprised," she said with proudness thickening her voice. "I got the best grades in my Kido class and I have a talent for it." She bragged. "Healing your wound was easy."

Ichigo craned his head to stare at her. "You got graded?" He questioned. "So what then? There's a school for Soul Reapers?" He asked curiously.

Holding a juice box in her hand, the raven haired girl confirmed his question, "Huh? You could call it that." A dumbfounded expression formed on her face as she questioned, "Tell me how do you open this thing?"

Staring at her for a few moments, Ichigo demonstrated how to do it. "You just use the sharp end of your straw." She frowned.

"What straw?!" She exclaimed frustrated

"So, it looks like you're together again." Glancing towards the owner of the voice, Ichigo frowned. "Uh-huh, you two seem pretty chummy."

"Mizuiro, shut-up. C'mon, does it really look like we're chummy?" Kurosaki Ichigo questioned staring at Mizuiro.

Looking at them closely, he added after a pause. "Maybe. Well, to be honest, the two of you do appear to be very close, but still, people are gonna talk about you two, and if they talk enough, everyone will think you're an item." Mizuiro exclaimed and the orange haired strawberry merely blinked.

"If I really cared about what others thought, I would've dyed my hair black a long time ago." Ichigo exclaimed with a dull expression.

Rukia hadn't looked up once from examining the juice box to see what was going on between Ichigo and the new presence. She soon found herself thinking aloud as she marvelled at the human world invention, unknowingly drawing attention to herself. "So this is the straw! It's short, but now I have to know where do I poke it?" A light tap on her shoulder had her looking up to meet the curiously gleaming eyes of a young looking black-haired boy.

"Hi there," he said jovially. "How ya doin!"

Rukia immediately put on her perky personality like a second skin. "Why hello there! You're um, Mizuiro?"

He chuckled happily. "That's me. I guess we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Mizuiro Kojima. I really like-"

"Reading books and picking up girls." Ichigo said cutting the now wide-eyed Mizuiro.

"What? That's not true Ichigo. Why would you say something like that?." He asked and Ichigo merely glanced at Rukia.

"Hey Rukia, watch out, he may look like a nerd but he's a player." Ichigo warned as he glanced at Rukia's direction, a sigh escaping his lips as the girl still continued to poke and probe at her juice box.

"Eh just forget it," Ichigo sighed, seeing how she wasn't even paying attention. Suddenly an overly cheerful voice broke through his thoughts.

"You know I go for the older girls, right?" Mizuiro questioned and Ichigo nodded.

"That's exactly why I said watch out." He muttered under his breath, the sudden sound of footsteps reaching his ears. Glancing towards the sound, he soon found himself staring at a familiar silver haired girl, a sudden flashback running through his mind.

He frowned as he could clearly see that the girl was visibly shaking, her hands fumbling with each other as she held her bento box in front of her. Her eyes connected with his and he raised an eyebrow. "Hi." She greeted with a bright smile, her hand raised in a waving motion.

Mizuiro and Rukia glanced at the newcomer and Mizuiro returned the gesture. "Oh. Hello Maya." She smiled lightly and turned her attention towards Rukia and Ichigo.

"Could I talk to you two for a second?" This seemed to catch Rukia's attention and her juice box was now for the moment delayed. Moving towards them, Maya led them a few feet from prying ears and took a deep breath, all the while avoiding their gazes.

"What's this about?" Kurosaki questioned, raising a eyebrow as she flinched.

"I-," she took a deep breath. "Wanted to apologize for the other night." Before they could pipe in, she continued. "I was there the night Orihime and Tatsuki got attacked and I-" her hands clenched tightly. "And I'm sorry for not being there to protect them. I ran away because I was scared. And I know you two have every right to be mad at me. If it wasn't for you two, Orihime and Tatsuki would be dead because I was too much of a coward to help." a firm hand was placed on her shoulder and much to her surprise it was Rukia's hand.

Staring into said girl's violet orbs, she gave Maya a reassuring smile. "As you saw, Orihime and Tatsuki are fine. There's nothing to worry about alright. The only thing that matters are that they are alright and safe. Its past as one shouldn't dwell on it. Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

Rukia now had both Maya's and Ichigo's attention, both staring at her with an expression that could be described as respect and awe. Nodding her head, Maya opened her mouth to reply but a familiar voice broke the unwanted silence. Maya frowned as Rukia then turned her undivided attention to the almost forgotten juice box.

"What's this? Rukia Kuchiki the hot new transfer student is here with you guys? How did that happen?" Keigo was practically bouncing on his toes with glee.

"Ichigo picked her up. He's the one who brought her here." Mizuiro shot Ichigo a look of triumph.

"I did not!" Ichigo protested.

He was promptly ignored. "Ichigo did! What a guy! Good job!" Keigo burst out, stars practically dancing in his eyes as he openly stared at an oblivious Rukia.

"Well I guess. It's really no big deal." Ichigo tried to sound nonchalant as he stared at Keigo, willing the brown haired boy to shut the hell up, but as everyone knew, Keigo Asano wasn't one to actually listen.

Throughout their whole back-and-forth, Rukia hadn't looked up to acknowledge either one of them, too preoccupied with haphazardly poking at the resistant juice box.

Rukia looked up suddenly as a brown-haired boy enthusiastically dropped to his knees in front of her. "Greetings, I'm Keigo Asano! Welcome lovely lady to this garden of manliness!"

"Uh, hello." She was too shocked to use her cheery voice, staring up at the brown haired boy in confusion.

"Yeah! Lunch party! Right here! Right now!"

"Some party, noodles and juice," Mizuiro broke in. Standing there with a dumfounded look, Maya honestly didn't know where she fit in. Everyone seemed so- so open and friendly and here she stood like an idiot.

"Shut-up, it's the feeling that counts!" Keigo snapped at his friend before turning his attention back to Rukia. He tried to make his voice suave and low as he said, "So, Rukia, if you find yourself needing anything you just call on me. I'm here for you."

And Rukia decided to use Keigo's offer to her advantage. "Oh? Great open this!" she exclaimed, shoving the still unopened juice box at the boy.

But as Keigo went on to gladly do as she commanded, he promptly bumped into Chad.

"Chad... you're injured." and indeed he was, his forehead was wrapped in bandages, and his right forearm was bandaged. They waited for his explanation, even Maya glanced at him to assess the injuries.

"Yeah, the one on my head is from a steel girder that fell on me yesterday, the one on the hand is from a collision with a motorcycle, the rider was hurt badly so I had to carry him to the hospital and that's why I'm late."

Maya was surprised but didn't show it, this young man was sturdy and probably strong and she briefly wondered what the hell this guy was made off.

Chad on the other hand didn't think much of Maya's presence on the roof. His reasoning was simple, if Ichigo was fine with her being here, he was fine with it too.

"Man, I still don't know what you're made of." Ichigo proclaimed as he stared at his friend in awe and worry.

Chad put down a birdcage and everyone looked at it, some more interested than others.

"Hello, my name is Shibata Yuuichi, what is your name?" the bird spoke to them and it was only then that Maya could sense it. The lost little soul of a boy was trapped within that bird and by the looks of it Rukia and Ichigo sensed it too.

Blocking out everything and everyone around her, Maya merely kept her gaze on the little bird. A frown settling on her forehead. She would have to bring this up to Kisuke and to be honest, she had never seen something like this before and now, watching the saddened look reflecting in the birds eyes, she wondered how and why such a small little soul could carry such a heavy burden.

* * *

It would seem that after consulting with Urahara about her finding at school; the silver haired Arrancar could find now rest as she tossed and turned on her futon, her eyebrows knitted together.

That little soul carried a heavy burden on his shoulders and Maya was sure, that this time, she vowed to herself that she would never run away when someone needed help and she would never ever turn her back on someone who needed it the most.

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"Out of the way!" Karin yelled as she almost ran into Ichigo.

"What's going on?" he knew that there was probably a medical emergency at hand, seeing his sisters dressed in small nurse uniforms.

"There was a big traffic accident at the intersection nearby. We have a lot of people that need help." was Yuzu's reply and even though despite the situation, he would admit that his sisters looked rather adorable.

He heard his dad yelling at someone and went to see if he could help in any way. "Dad, anything I can do to help?" he asked after Isshin hung up with whoever he was talking to on the phone.

"No, just stay out of the way." Isshin didn't even look at him as he left the room, he stood to the side, waiting to see if something needed to be done to help.

"Oh, this is a big one, Ichigo, get your ass here, you have work to do!" Isshin yelled from the other room some time later.

Ichigo recognized the hunching mexican right away, his two sisters were barely holding up Chad, he was struggling to stay on his feet.

Karin however was focused on the strange bird, she felt a presence inside it, but she also felt something else from it, a memory...

"Phew, this is a bad wound, you'll have to stay here for a while." Isshin said as he did his best to disinfect the giant paw print on Chad's back.

"That isn't necessary, I'm fine." Chad took the birdcage in one hand, and his shirt in the other. He made three steps before collapsing like a tree.

"Told you so..." was Isshin's answer to all that. "Alright, let's put him to bed..."

After they placed him in the bed to rest, Ichigo left to his room, Rukia was already in there, sitting on his bed, a concentrated expression on her face.

"Did you feel it?" Ichigo asked seriously, closing the door behind him, the silent agreement was that they would be quiet while in his room; to avoid further incidents with Isshin.

"Yes, once again I felt nothing from the bird, but the wound is definitely from a Hollow." She informed him and Ichigo nodded.

"Should we give it a burial while Chad is asleep?"

"No, there is something more happening here, we wait to see what it is. My guess is that there is a Hollow chasing the soul inside the bird, we should lure it out first." Rukia explained with a expression that could only be described as serious.

"Yeah, that makes some sense, besides, we can keep an eye on Chad if he's close." Ichigo agreed.

"We will have to interrogate him in the morning, he knows more than he lets on." Rukia remembered the 'story' how Chad got the bird.

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Kurosaki Karin on the other hand, tossed and turned in her bed, sweat rolling off her forehead as she recalled the memories she now shared with that bird and to be honest, those memories were far from pleasant.

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"Good morning!" Yuzu greeted as her brother came to the kitchen.

Ichigo rubbed his head as he came downstairs instantly noticing the lack of a certain black haired girl.

"Good morning. Where's Karin?"

"She said that she's not hungry, she's feeling sick today."

That was something new, he could clearly see that Yuzu was anxiously waiting to get everything ready for him and dad so that she can go and devote herself fully to Karin before school.

"She's sick? I guess there's a first time for anythi-" he was cut off as Isshin burst into the room.

"Ichigo! Chad disappeared from his room." there wasn't much else that could get Ichigo moving so fast, so early in the morning.

Making her way down the path she always took to school, the lack of sleep started to catch on the silver haired girl, a humming tune sounding from her. Her mind travelled on what Rukia had said to her an she still couldn't help but feel guilty. But thus yet again, she woke up late and this time, she knew she wouldn't get off so easily. She briefly wondered if Ichigo and Rukia solved the bird problem but that all came to an end when she spotted a rather familiar face walking in the confinement of a warehouse.

"What the-?" She frowned, school was now the last thing on her mind as she ran up towards the tall mexican known as Yasatoru Sado or rather Chad.

"Mister, I'm really sorry, this is all my fault. All the people who owned me met misfortune. I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't worry, I don't mind." Chad assured the bird.

"Mister, don't worry about me, you should just leave me."

"I can't do that." He protested back.

"Mister, please just leave me."

"Don't worry, being sturdy is my only worth anyway."

Chad saw something move above him, he looked up but didn't see anything strange.

"Move!" Barely seeing the silhouette of a silver haired girl sprinting towards him, he could barely see a silhouette of something big falling towards him. He jumped forwards, dodging the blow that destroyed a part of the wall.

"It found us." He ran, holding the cage tightly jumping through the window that was close by. He needed to hide, but he couldn't just hide anywhere. He needed a place where he could stay without other people getting hurt. There was a park close by, but the path there would take him close to the clinic.

Watching his figure disappear, a huff came from her lips. "I blame this stupid Gigai!"Cursing, she followed shortly after.

Ichigo and Rukia were close to the clinic when they saw Chad. He saw them too, before he turned and ran the other way and soon after, a familiar silver haired girl was seen skidding around the corner before taking after him.

"Dammit! Chad! Maya!" About to sprint after them, his blood ran cold when he heard a whimper.

"Ichi-nii..." He turned to see Karin leaning to a wall, dangerously wobbling.

"Karin! What's wrong, you look like you can barely stand!" True to his words, she fell to her knees. "Karin!" He ran for her, checking her up, having a doctor as a father had a few benefits.

"Ichigo. Take her home, I'll go after him. " Rukia spoke after seeing him worry over his sister.

"But-" He didn't want to leave his sister, he didn't want to let Chad go, he didn't want to leave Rukia alone with a Hollow around or for that matter Maya. He couldn't be everywhere.

"Don't argue! I can't have your concentration breaking in the middle of a fight." She was right, he hated to admit it, but she was right, if he left his sister, he wouldn't be able to think about anything else. He resigned to his duty.

"Rukia, if you and Maya can't handle him, don't try and be a hero, alright?" His voice was serious and showed genuine care.

"Fool, like I would give you the chance to worry over me... now go!" while the emotions in her voice were a lot less obvious, they were there.

Ichigo ran towards his house as Rukia sprinted to join Maya in their chase to catch Chad.

"Karin, how do you feel?" he asked as he ran, still trying to figure out what was wrong with his sister.

"Ichi-nii..."

She was crying, that wasn't supposed to be happening. His sister never cried.

"I saw it, I saw the strongest memory from the ghost... I saw it... right in front of him, his mother... his mom was killed right in front of his eyes." He stopped dead in his tracks, being a Shinigami had a tendency of bringing out all the worst memories he had to the surface.

"Please...Ichi-nii, please... save him..."

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Still sprinting after him, Maya cursed the lack of speed she had. Hearing footsteps behind her, she glanced back and saw a familiar raven haired face. It wasn't long after that Rukia was finally in step with Maya.

"Rukia! What's going on?" Glancing at the girl beside her, Rukia turned her attention to the matter of hand.

"I'll explain later. We have to get to that bird before-"

A sudden eerie sound echoed around them and Maya skidded to a halt. It sounded and felt so much like a Hollow. "You smell really nice..." The voice was deep and unmistakeably from a Hollow. Rukia stopped right away, looking around frantically, trying to find the source.

"How about letting me have a taste?" it was behind her, whispering in her ear. Maya's eyes widened as she noticed how close it was. "You smell delicious. Wonderful. Time to eat your soul." It opened its maw and lunged at them, both rolling out the way as they then turned towards the Hollow.

"So you're still alive? You're tougher than I thought and you could see me clearly. That makes me curious. Just who are you?" Narrowing her eyes, Maya lunged as she sent her knee crashing into the hollow's mask, using the momentum and pushed herself into the air.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws." As the incantation fell from her lips, Rukia had also sent her own attack on the Hollow, flipping herself over the Hollow, she too, pushed herself in the air. "Hadō #33. Sōkatsui!" A burst of blue spiritual energy escaped Maya's hands as she sent the Kidō attack towards the Hollow, just as Rukia sent her own.

Landing on opposite sides of each other, they both had small smiles on the faces but it soon vanished as from the smoke, the Hollow emerged...unscratched and unharmed.

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"Rukia!"

A yell.

A gasp.

A fountain of blood.

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**TO BE CONTINUED…..**

**Author Note: **Wow! I think that was a rather long chapter from me. There wasn't much Maya in here but I am going to try and write longer chapters. Please review and let me know. And could you please tell me if Maya is Mary-Sue?


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